What is Hacking? The act of compromising digital devices and networks through unauthorized access to an account or computer system. Hacking is not always a malicious act, but it is most commonly associated with illegal activity and data theft by cyber criminals. Hacking refers to the misuse of devices like computers, smartphones, tablets, and networks to cause damage to or corrupt systems, gather information on users, steal data and documents, or disrupt data-related activity. A traditional view of hackers is a lone rogue programmer who is highly skilled in coding and modifying computer software and hardware systems. But this narrow view does not cover the true technical nature of hacking. Hackers are increasingly growing in sophistication, using stealthy attack methods designed to go completely unnoticed by cybersecurity software and IT teams. Hacking first appeared as a term in the 1970s but became more popular through the next decade. An article in a 1980 edition of Psychology Today ran the headline “The Hacker Papers” in an exploration of computer usage’s addictive nature. Black Hat Hackers are the “bad guys” of the hacking scene. White hat hackers can be seen as the “good guys” who attempt to prevent the success of black hat hackers through proactive hacking. Grey hat hackers sit somewhere between the good and the bad guys. Unlike black hat hackers, they attempt to violate standards and principles but without intending to do harm or gain financially. ways to prevent yourself from getting hacked are updating your devices, use unique passwords for different accounts and avoid clicking on ads or strange links.