Similar to the activities of Anonymous, hacking does not simply represent an activity in which there is massive damage with purely detrimental effects. Hackers’ actions can be inspired by good intentions to offer sufficient benefit for members of the public. This was seen in the example by Wiki-leaks in providing citizens with their access to information that was previously concealed by the government. This paper describes additional positive effects of hacking and their justification.
Fire can burn and be the instrument of heinous crimes such as arson. Nevertheless, it can also be the instrument beneficial for the preparation of food. Similarly, considering hacking in light of only its negative attribute is a shortsighted approach to viewing it. Several instances of positive hacking effects have been identified over history, thereby allowing a situation where ethical hacking can occur. An example of this is through website security activities. In this instance, hackers will access a site maliciously, albeit in a controlled environment, to test the security of the website, thereby providing untold benefits to the website owners for maintaining safety in their site (Abu-Shaqra & Luppicini, 2016). Therefore, hackers in this case would access the website to test for its weaknesses so that when malicious parties gain the opportunity, sufficient security will be mounted against a cyber-attack.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
In the early days of computing, the United States Air Pressure conducted a security analysis of its operating system. In so doing, they could identify hardware flaws, software weak points and procedural security that could be taken advantage of. As a result, the company was able to seal security loopholes in their systems by the help of ethical hackers (Engebretson, 2013). This provides an example of when hacking can be beneficial.
In conclusion, hacking is similar to fire. Without looking at its proper uses in a controlled setting, it is possible to end up seeing all the negative attributes. Nevertheless, security testing and other functions are examples of ethical hacking, alongside hacktivism as explained in the Anonymous example.
References
Abu-Shaqra, B., & Luppicini, R. (2016). Technoethical Inquiry into Ethical Hacking at a Canadian University. International Journal of Technoethics (IJT), 7(1) , 62-76.
Engebretson, P. (2013). The basics of hacking and penetration testing: ethical hacking and penetration testing made easy. New York: Elsevier.
