An Ethical Hacker is an expert hired by a company to attempt to attack their network and computer system the same way a hacker would. Ethical Hackers use the same techniques and tactics as those used by illegal hackers to breach corporate security systems. The end result is the company’s ability to prevent an intrusion before it ever occurs.

A company can’t know if their security system is solid unless they test it. It’s hard, though, for a company’s IT team to thoroughly ring out the system. Try as they might, the techs can’t go at the system with all the malicious or mischievous motives of a true illegal hacker. To thoroughly uncover vulnerabilities, the theory goes; you must examine your security system through the eyes of an illegal hacker.

The word hacking has strongly negative connotations, and, for the most part, rightly so. But ethical hacking is much different. It takes place with the explicit permission of the company whose system is being attacked. In fact, their “good guy” role is underscored by the nickname “white hat” Ethical Hackers have been given. The nickname is a throwback to old Westerns where the good cowboys could be identified by their white hats.

The company and the Ethical Hacker enter into a legally binding contract. The contract, sometimes called a “get out of jail free card,” sets forth the parameters of the testing. It’s called the “get out of jail free card” because it’s what harbors the Ethical Hacker from prosecution. Hacking is a felony, and a serious one at that. The terms of the agreement are what transform illegal behavior into a legal and legitimate occupation.