What is ethical hacking and is it bad ?

[master412160]

I am quite confused here.

I know Hacking is iligal and bad but what about ethical hacking I heard of by a guy on my own board not so long ago ?
This is what I found on the wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethical_hacking

A white hat is the hero or good guy, especially in computing slang, where it refers to an ethical hacker or penetration tester who focuses on securing and protecting IT systems.[1]

White hat hackers are computer security experts, who specialize in penetration testing, and other testing methodologies, to ensure that a company's information systems are secure. Such people are employed by companies where these professionals are sometimes called "sneakers."[2] Groups of these people are often called tiger teams[3] or red teams. These security experts may utilize a variety of methods to carry out their tests, including social engineering tactics, use of hacking tools, and attempts to evade security to gain entry into secured areas.

The National Security Agency offers certifications such as the CNSS 4011. Such a certification covers orderly, ethical hacking techniques and team management. Aggressor teams are called "red" teams. Defender teams are called "blue" teams.

 

[Acorn]

Right, they're people who test code and software for security loopholes. They're commonly hired by programmers and all the major software companies because of their expertise.

Just about any skill can be put to either good or evil uses.

 

[Cranos]

It's obviously not bad, as they help to protect the product.

 

[David]

Say if you have a new firewall software and so a company will definitely need to test it. How can they test it without someone trying to break through it? They are ethical hackers.

 

[CyberFreak]

Creating a forum through claiming to be an ethical hacker and giving tips on how hackings happen may cause you trouble. While you may be ethical, the people reading it and the people the site attracts may not be ethical hackers and may use the information you provide maliciously. Of course the information would help some people protect themselves but you have to be careful what information you post. Many people prefer not to be associated with hacking sites full stop whether or not they are ethical hacking sites.