ABSTRACT
An oxymoron is a figure of speech that juxtaposes two seemingly contradictory ideas to produce the desired effect. Perhaps the best-known oxymorons in normal usage are “jumbo shrimp,” “open secret,” or “original copies.” In many ways, this chapter on ethical hacking could also be considered in some sense another example of an oxymoron. In fact, the concept of contradictory yet juxtaposed ideas is reasonably common in the field of cybersecurity. This is in large part because of the idea that we have to keep together concepts that bridge the gap between the offensive and defensive concepts involved in cybersecurity. A few of the more relevant examples include, as are found elsewhere in this book, “confidentiality/availability,” “vulnerability/countermeasure,” and, as will be seen in a later chapter, the principle of security as the basis of cryptography, which is completely in opposition to the principle of security related to steganography.
In fact, the concept of an ethical hacker has become institutionalized in that there is a professional certification referred to as Certified Ethical Hacker (ICEC). In this chapter, we investigate the principles involved in ethical hacking, relating to the concept the work of Ymir Vigfusson of Emory University, who concentrates on the importance of the development of the “moral compass” for persons for whom he teaches this form of ethical hacking.
