Hacking has gotten a pretty bad rep from media attention and the prejudice that we’ve been led to believe. However, hacking can be used in a beneficial manner. Not only does it introduce a more creative way of thinking, it can also improve product development.
Ethical hacking has been used in recent years to facilitate the type of growth that would have been non-existent if not for the practice. It prevents unwanted access, theft, and strengthens cybersecurity by probing for vulnerabilities.
Guided Hacking provides ethical hackers with the resources that can help propel the development of their skills. Aside from being rich in resources, the forum also acts as a community for ethical hackers to share their skills and experiences.
One user states that, “I’ve learnt so much from Guided Hacking. There isn’t an official school for hacking and it’s not like we have an academy of hackers, but this forum is academic in nature because we come together to learn, not to harm, but to share our knowledge and be better in what we do.”
Ethical hacking has been slowly accepted culturally, with big tech corporations such as Facebook going out bounties to those who are able to penetrate their platform. It’s rather clever, the way that they use hackers to do their job for them and ensuring that their cybersecurity is up to par.
It’s almost similar to the case of Frank Abagnale, an expert conman who was eventually hired by banks in order to strengthen their security system. But the use of hackers to build up cybersecurity is really starting to gain traction, which is how ethical hacking came around and will continue to expand and grow as long as the digital space is in demand for their services.
Another part of Guided Hacking that is strongly advocated on the forum is game hacking. Hacking a game can be as innocuous as adding health or assets to their character, but it can also be a form of sport, from the hacker’s point of view.
Reverse engineering is a strong element of hacking, and many hackers enjoy the challenge of recreating code in order to spot the weaknesses or errors that they are able to exploit. Of course, game hacking puts hackers at an unfair advantage over other players and is not encouraged to be used. Some game developers would actually ban accounts that use cheating, but therein lies the paradox: gamers who cheat have an unfaltering love for the game that they are deploying their cheats on. Why else go to those lengths when they could easily turn to another game instead?
Game hacking is a form of passion and it can also be used to improve the game. According to one game developer, “Hackers can sometimes give you the best content, the best customers, and offer the best inspiration.”
The forum has been around since 2011 and in a bid to meet popular demand, the website is adopting a more formal education approach in order to better facilitate learning and to further distance themselves from the stigma of casual or unethical hacking practices.
