ABSTRACT
The terminology applied to these tools and their users has caused some controversy, particularly in the computer underground. Traditionally, and particularly in the computer underground, the term “hacker” is a benign word, referring to an individual who is focused on determining how things work and devising innovative approaches to addressing computer problems. To differentiate these noble individuals from a nasty attacker, this school of thought labels malicious attackers as “crackers.” While hackers are out to make the world a better place, crackers want to cause damage and mayhem. To avoid the confusion often associated with these terms, in this chapter, the terms “system and security administrator” and “security practitioner” will be used to indicate an individual who has a legitimate and authorized purpose for running these tools. The term “attacker” will refer to those individuals who seek to cause damage to systems or who are not authorized to run such tools.
