Overview of Hacking

 Hack
• Examine something very minutely
• The rapid crafting of new program or the making
of changes to existing, usually complicated
software

Hacker
• The person who hacks

Cracker
• System intruder/ destroyer
 History Of Hacking
 The first hacker was appeared in at the
1960’s
Massachusetts Institute Of Technology(MIT)
During the 1970’s, a hacker
different Phone
appeared: kindPhreaker
of or Phone Hacker
 In the 1980’s, phreaks started to migrate to
computers, and the first Bulletin Board System (BBS)
appeared

During the 1990’s, when the use of

internet widespread around the world, hackers
multiplied
It is clear from the graph it is increasing
day by day.
 What is Ethical Hacking
•It is Legal
•Permission is obtained from the
target Part of an overall security
program
•Identify vulnerabilities visible
from Internet at particular point of
time
•Ethical hackers possesses same
skills, mindset and tools of a
hacker but the attacks are done in
a non-destructive manner
 Why – Ethical Hacking
Protection from possible External Attacks

Social Engineering
Automated
Organizational Attacks
Attacks

Restricted
Data

Acciden
Breaches in tal
Security Denial of
Viruses, Trojan Service (DoS)
Horses,
and Worms

!@ # 9
 Types of
Hacker
 White Hat
Hacker
• Good guys
• Don’t use their skill for illegal purpose
• Computer security experts and help to protect from
Black Hats.

 Black Hat
Hacker
• Bad guys
• Use their skill maliciously for personal gain
• Hack banks, steal credit cards and deface websites

 Grey Hat
Hacker
• It is a combination of White hat n Black Hat Hackers
• Goal of grey hat hackers
is to provide national
security
 Ethical Hacking as a Profession
Cyber Security and Networking are booming Industries of the world today. Every country
in the world seeks efficient utilization of the Internet. Companies use the Internet to run
them and manage their activities. Internet utilization has eased the work of such entities
but at the same time, it also poses a threat to them. Thus the ethical hacking is altogether a
new profession in itself and its growing day by day. The dream of the digitized country
further strengthens the need for ethical hacking in India because it seeks utmost utilization
of the Internet.
We need to understand that cyber-security is a process and not a product and there is no
server or cyber system which is beyond hacking. Everything on the internet can b hacked
depends upon the expertise of hacker and the efforts given. White hats work with the
government and private firms to test their networks for vulnerabilities, loopholes, and bugs
to stop an actual black hat from encroaching upon the network.
Advantages
Provides security to banking and
financial establishments
Prevents website defacements
An evolving technique
To catch a thief you have to think
like a thief
Disadvantages
All depends upon the
trustworthiness of the ethical hacker
Hiring professionals is expensive.
 Some Famous Hacker

Ian Murphy Kevin Mitnick Johan Helsinguis

Linus Mark Robert Morris

Torvald Abene
 Ethical Hacking in India
Before going into the legality of ethical hacking,
we have to keep in mind that hacking and ethical
hacking are different. Hacking is a wrongful act
under Indian legal system. Although ethical
hacking is not so prevalent in India yet it is an
evolving profession. There are various institutes
and colleges in different cities of India which offer
courses of ethical hacking. India emerged as the
third most vulnerable country in terms of risk of
cyber threats, such as malware, spam, and
ransomware, in 2017, moving up one place over
the previous year, according to a report by security
solutions provider Symantec.
Although Indian laws do not specifically deal with
ethical hacking yet hacking is a punishable offense
in India. The act of Hacking contravenes the
underlying principles of India legal system. The
subject of ethical hacking has not been dealt with
explicitly in Indian laws, therefore, it enjoyed
neutral status under Indian legal system.
 Constitutional Argument
As per constitutional principles hacking interferes with Article 21 which deals with the right to
life and personal liberty which includes right to live with dignity. Moreover, the act of hacking
also infringes the right to privacy of an individual which is a fundamental right now. By
intruding upon the system, black hats invade the private information of a person or
organization whereas ethical hacking ensures that such things do not happen. Thus ethical
hacking is legal as it stands true on constitutional parameters.

Not a Crime
Two elements are required for the constitution of a crime and these two elements are
1.) mens rea i.e. bad intention
2.) actus reus i.e. physical act.
In ethical hacking, the first and the basic ingredient i.e. mens rea itself is missing, therefore,
the question of it being a crime does not arise. Moreover, ethical hacking is done in order to
prevent hacking, therefore, it is necessary.
 Recent news of Hacking
• Next generation patch management tool released- Secunia CSI 7.0
• Anonymity tool TOR gains more than 1.2 million users since NSA
PRISM Scandal
• Fear of NSA PRISM : Indian Government
may ban US email services for official Communication
• CISCO vulnerability allows remote attacker to take
control of Windows System
• New York Times. Twitter and Huffington Post Domains hijacked by
Syrian Electronic Army
• FBI uses Anonymous Hackers to attack foreign Governments
• Palestinian Hacker , who hacked Zuckerberg’s Facebook Account to
be awarded with $12000
 Conclusion
The act of ethical hacking is not defined in any
Indian law. Its legality can only be ascertained
after having a conceptual understanding of the
laws that govern hacking. Ethical hacking
lacks mens rea which is the prime reason for
making any act, an illegal act. This is one of the
reasons why ethical hacking is not illegal in
India. After testing ethical hacking with
parameters of both the civil law and the
criminal law, it can be concluded that ethical is
legal hacking in India.