Mention the word “hacker” and most people would think of a cybercriminal who’s adept at gaining unauthorised access to networks and computer systems. But like many things in life, there are in fact two sides to the coin – not all hackers bat for the “dark side”. Case in point? White hat hackers (skip to DEF CON SG to find out where they converge). Yes, this group of people hack as well, but for a different reason – to identify and rectify vulnerabilities in computer systems. They do so in a legitimate fashion too – they only hack when given permission by system owners. In other words, they hack to bolster cybersecurity. Types of hackers Generally speaking, there are three types of hackers out there. A brief history of ethical hacking A Frenchman named René Carmille is widely credited as one of the first people in history to perform ethical hacking. The hacking that he performed, however, had nothing to do with writing code. After all, this incident took place in 1940 during World War II, a time when only rudimentary punch card computers existed. According to historical records, Carmille’s form of hacking involved deliberately mishandling punch cards, thus delaying the Nazis’ attempts to track Jews using the information stored in punch card computers. In the 1960s, when computers became more advanced, the term “ethical hacking” was used to describe the act of optimising systems. Fast forward two decades, when personal computers – treasure troves of confidential records and personal information – became commonplace, the ethical hacking movement started gaining pace in tandem with the rise in numbers of black hat hackers looking to steal data. As the world became increasingly digitalised, the fight between the white and black hat hackers naturally intensified. Today, ethical hacking is widely considered a