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Created By Annie Jennings PR, National Publicist  
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Wanna Be A Hacker? Uncle Sam Wants You!


There are many different kinds of hackers; not all are bad.

For example, so-called white hat hackers are the good guys, computer security experts who specialize in penetration testing and other methodologies to ensure that a company’s information systems are secure.

These IT security professionals rely on a constantly evolving arsenal of technology to battle hackers.

And then there are black hat hackers, who typically are referred to as just plain hackers. These are the bad guys. The term black hat is often used specifically for hackers who break into networks, computers, or create computer viruses.

Black hat hackers continue to technologically outpace white hats, managing to find the path of least resistance; whether due to human error or laziness, or with a new type of attack. Hacking purists often use the term crackers to refer to black hat hackers. Black hats’ motivation is generally to get paid.

The even scarier ones are the state-sponsored hackers.

Governments around the globe realize that it serves their military objectives to be well positioned online. The saying used to be, “he who controls the seas controls the world,” and then it was, “he who controls the air controls the world.”

Now it’s all about controlling cyberspace. State-sponsored hackers have limitless time and funding to target civilians, corporations and governments.

Now the Associated Press* reports that Carnegie Mellon University and one of the government’s top spy agencies wants to interest high school students in a game of computer hacking.

“America increasingly needs professionals with highly technical cyber skills to help keep the country safe today—and to help the country meet future challenges and adapt with greater agility,’ [National Security Agency representative Vanee] Vines said in an email to The Associated Press. ‘When it comes to national security, there is no substitute for a dedicated, immensely talented workforce. We need the best and brightest to help us outthink and defeat our adversaries’ new ideas.”

If you are a white hat and want to learn about how to help, click here.

Read more posts by Robert Siciliano, Online Security Expert to McAfee and blogger for JenningsWire.

*Source: Yahoo News.