User:UndercoverSwitch/Hacker culture

Ethical Hacking:
CSO Online defined ethical hacking as going into devices and computer systems belonging to an organization, with its explicit permissions, to assess and test the efficacy of the organization's cybersecurity defenses. Generally, organizations engage the services of ethical hackers either through third-party cybersecurity firms or under contract. Their main job is to identify and fix security gaps before threat-actors find them and exploit them. This proactive approach to cybersecurity testing leads to significant cost savings for organizations.

Ethical hacking is the process of software engines running real-world cyber threats to assess the survivability of a company's digital structure. Ethical hackers play the role of cyber attackers by executing assessments, penetration tests, and modeling tactics, techniques, and procedures used by threat-actors. This careful examination provides an organization with the identification of weaknesses in its security systems, enabling the organization to employ necessary measures towards fortifying its defense.

Cyber-attacks can have significant financial implications for a company. On average, a successful cyber-attack may cost a large organization as much as $8,640,000. In such cases, the organizations could have been saved from these gigantic financial losses by identifying and fixing the vulnerabilities discovered by an ethical hacker. Moreover, for smaller organizations, the impact can be even more dramatic as it can potentially save the business's very existence.

Furthermore, the act of ethical hacking also molds the larger hacker culture. Hacking skills, traditionally associated with breaking the law, have changed dramatically with the emergence of ethical hacking. Ethical hacking helped legitimize hacking skills which can now be talked about publicly. This shift challenges the stereotypical perception of hackers as criminals, allowing for greater emphasis on their positive contributions to cybersecurity. Ethical hacking has drastically changed the public perception of hackers. Rather than viewing persons with hacker skills as perpetrators of cybercrime, they can be viewed as part of the solution in fighting against cybercrime. The ethical hacker with knowledge and expertise stands as guardian to the digital assets, working beforehand alongside organizations to build up a more secure online landscape.

Ethical hacking is not only a proactive defense for organizations but also brings about the desired cultural revolution within the realm of the hacking fraternity. Ethical hacking, on its part through focusing on the constructive application of hacking skills, has become an integral activity in the collective effort towards fortification of cybersecurity and redefining hackers' image in the public eye.

Bibliography:

 * EDITORS, eWEEK. “Key Advice for Improving Your Company’s Cybersecurity.” eWEEK, 13 Apr. 2022, https://www.eweek.com/security/improving-cybersecurity/.
 * “What Is Ethical Hacking? Getting Paid to Break into Computers.” CSO Online, https://www.csoonline.com/article/563681/what-is-ethical-hacking-getting-paid-to-break-into-computers.html . Accessed 27 Oct. 2023.
 * Yeo, John. “Using Penetration Testing to Enhance Your Company’s Security.” Computer Fraud & Security, vol. 2013, no. 4, Apr. 2013, pp. 17–20. ScienceDirect, https://doi.org/10.1016/S1361-3723(13)70039-3.
 * “Out of the Shadows: The Rise of Ethical Hackers in 2021 | Computer Weekly.” ComputerWeekly.Com, https://www.computerweekly.com/news/252509626/Out-of-the-shadows-The-rise-of-ethical-hackers-in-2021 . Accessed 27 Oct. 2023.
 * Pelzer, LeeAnne M. “The True Cost of Cybersecurity Incidents: The Problem.” Palo Alto Networks Blog, 25 June 2021, https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/2021/06/the-cost-of-cybersecurity-incidents-the-problem/.