Hacking is an attempt to gain unauthorized access to software systems. For web applications, the practical concern is attackers who look for weaknesses they can exploit for financial or political gain. section 1.1
The same vulnerability-finding methods can serve different purposes:
- Black hat hackers use vulnerabilities maliciously and illegally. section 1.1
- White hat hackers identify vulnerabilities before criminals exploit them, often through penetration testing or bug bounties. section 1.1
- Gray hat hackers may report a vulnerability rather than exploit it when reporting is more profitable. section 1.1
Automated scripts and readily available tools can scan systems for vulnerable access points. Kali Linux is used by both penetration testers and malicious attackers; the difference is authorization and intent, not necessarily the tooling. section 1.1
Finding a server flaw
A security researcher might demonstrate a vulnerability in Apache Tomcat to its developers so a patch can resolve the problem before attackers exploit it. section 1.1
