What is hacking
Hacking is attempting to gain unauthorised access to or control of a computer or network. There are many reasons people might engage in hacking:
- To commit crime
- For the
challenge
- For ethical reasons
- Hacktivism
- Espionage
Hacking to commit crime
This includes a wide range of hacking such as:
- Hacking to cause disruption and damage such as DDOS attacks, viruses and worms
- Attempts to get username and password data as
well as other personal information such as phishing and spyware which can be used to steal money and or information
- Ransomware and other situations involving data theft and a ransom demanded to return it or not publish/sell
it
Most laws are designed for regular crime prevention and the law is frequently playing catch-up when it comes to cybercrime. Gathering concrete evidence of cybercrime can be very difficult. Even when the perpetrators of
cybercrimes can be identified there can be a problem prosecuting them if they reside in a different country to the victims.
For victims of cybercrime the consequences can be severe, with some people losing their life savings. In addition cybercrime costs billions reducing the strength of the economy. It cost the UK 320 billion US in 2023 and is
predicted reach 1816 billion US by 2028.
Hacking for fun
Many hackers start out hacking for fun. They seek the challenge of trying to get into networks. There are now a number of resources for people who wish to develop ethical hacking skills e.g. GCHQ's cyber discovery programs
and sites like tryhackme.com. It is important to recognise that actually trying to hack places without authorization, to see if you can, can get you in a lot of trouble.
Ethical hacking
Ethical hacking is also known as white hat hacking or penetration testing. These are people paid to try to hack into organisations and report back in order to suggest improvements to their security. Bug bounty programs are
also used by websites, organisations and software developers that pay people for finding and reporting bugs so they can be fixed before they are exploited. With cybercrime on the rise and increasing risks from hacktivists and
nation based hackers there is a need for a strong cyber security education sector to ensure there are enough experts to tackle these issues. The government is committed to developing paths to teach potential white hat hackers
about cyber security.
Hacktivism
Hacktivism is the use of hacking in the pursuit of some social or political cause. This includes large organisations like Wikileaks, Anonymous and LuizSec as well as smaller groups and individuals. Although many of these
groups believe that they are doing things for the right reasons they are not ethical hackers.
Cyber espionage
Cyber espionage is where nation states attempt to gain access to the secure networks of other nations to steal secrets. It has the potential to escalate to attacks on infrastructure. In December 2023, the UK government
accused Russias FSB of being engaged in years-long cyber attacks on the UK. North Korea is known to use their hacking programs to raise money for their nuclear program. As recently as February 2024 the US government has said
that PRC hackers are targeting our [US] critical infrastructure, water treatment plants, our electrical grid, our oil and natural gas pipelines, our transportation systems — and the risk that poses to every American requires our attention,
