When the topic of hacking comes up, most people think of a shady room full of servers and a person in a hoodie behind a computer screen. Hackers notoriously wreak havoc on businesses and private data, leaking sensitive information and causing millions—potentially even billions—of dollars in damages. All in all, it’s a stereotype that only has some truth to it, as there’s a flip side to hacking that doesn’t always make it to the spotlight, even though it should.
Hacking can also be used for good in the sense of initiatives like hacktivism and cybersecurity contributions. Much like the thrill of playing for fun in online slots, hacking can also involve positive excitement and challenge. Ethical hackers use their skills for the greater good of the world, doing essentially the opposite of stereotypical hackers by making our society a lot safer for everyone.
We’re going to highlight four white-hat hackers who have made their mark and captured the attention of the world for their valiant efforts.
Mark Abene
Mark Abene is one of the earliest high-profile hackers in the world, conducting his activities under the pseudonym Phiber Optik. Phiber Optik is a twist on the term fibre optics, the technology used to transmit data over long distances, alluding to his expertise in hacking and IT. As might be expected, Abene encountered computer culture early on in his life, sources say around the age of nine. He quickly became curious about programming and the power of the computer, and more specifically, the nationwide telephone network. Eventually, he found his place in the Legion of Doom, a group of teenage hackers, and later in another group, the Masters of Deception.
Abene was arrested at one point for computer crimes and served a one-year sentence at the Federal Prison Camp in Schuylkill, yet he received high praise for his role in the cybersecurity world. After his release, he went on to become the founder of Crossbar Security, a security consulting firm, and TraceVector, an intrusion detection firm. Unsurprisingly, Abene now lives in Silicon Valley.
Kevin Mitnick
If you thought a one-year prison sentence at a medium-level correctional institution was bad, what about five years without bail in a high-security detention centre? Although Kevin Mitnick had been arrested before, he made headlines with his high-profile arrest in 1995, found with over 100 cloned cell phone codes, countless false IDs, and duplicated cell phones. He was charged with 14 counts of wire fraud, eight counts of possession of unauthorized access devices, interception of wire or electronic communications, and unauthorized access to a federal computer, among other charges.
But wait—isn’t this article about ethical hackers? Well, after using his skills for more illicit activities, Mitnick used his newfound insights into computer systems vulnerabilities and transitioned into ethical hacking. Until his death, he was the head of Mitnick Security Consulting LLC, a computer security consultancy. Mitnick was also involved in other computer security initiatives and wrote three books on computer security and an autobiography.
Charlie Miller
After earning his Ph.D. in mathematics from the University of Notre Dame, Charlie Miller spent five years using his incredible skills for the National Security Agency. It was clear that he had an advanced grasp of security systems and vulnerabilities, and he used that primarily to reveal the many security gaps in Apple products. Miller became famous for these discoveries, finding a critical bug in the MacBook Air within two measly minutes, cracking the Safari browser, demonstrating an SMS processing vulnerability that let the iPhone and DoS attacks be completely compromised on other phones, and security holes in the iPhone and iPad that allowed hackers to steal personal data.
Apple certainly had its hands full, but it was a blessing in disguise as the company had someone to identify these vulnerabilities. These tests alerted the company to improve its security measures, ultimately employing Miller’s findings for good. Along with his Apple exploits, Miller and his fellow researchers remotely hacked a moving Jeep Cherokee. They managed to control the accelerator, braking, and steering, demonstrating the need for a serious overhaul to keep drivers safe on the road.
Julian Assange
While the other hackers on this list focused their efforts on cybersecurity, Julian Assange is best known for his efforts to expose sensitive government documents. Assange became an extremely skilled hacker at the young age of 16, operating under the very fitting name Mendax. Taken from the Roman poet Horace’s splendide mendax, the term means “nobly untruthful,” a phrase that described ethical hacking to a T. His ethos was established early on, stating that he wouldn’t damage or crash systems or data he hacked—his goal was simply to obtain data and make it accessible to the public.
Although he was pervasive in the hacking scene, Assange’s most famous project is WikiLeaks, a website that published U.S. military logs from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, footage of an American airstrike in Baghdad, and leaks from former United States Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning. He was able to spark serious debate about how much the public really knew about our national security and exposed the corruption and human rights abuses that we would’ve otherwise never known about.
Along with his efforts targeting government systems, Assange also supported the Victoria Police Child Exploitation Unit to bring those responsible for publishing and distributing child pornography to justice, receiving no personal benefit other than the fulfilment of contributing to a noble cause.
Deependra Singh Chundawat is a Senior Sub-Editor at Udaipur Kiran, specializing in a wide range of technology topics including mobile phones, applications, gaming, PCs, and wearables. Along with covering the latest tech news, he also creates engaging web stories. Passionate about emerging technologies, he stays up to date with the newest trends and enjoys reading and writing about the latest mobile launches and digital innovations.
