In their search for a way to approach the problem of computer security, organizations came to realize that one of the best ways to evaluate the intruder threat to their interests would be to have independent computer security professionals attempt to break into their computer systems. This scheme is similar to having independent auditors come into an organization to verify its bookkeeping records.

In the case of computer security, these “tiger teams” or “ethical hackers” would employ the same tools and techniques as the intruders, but they would neither damage the target systems nor steal information. Instead, they would evaluate the target systems’ security and re-port back to the owners with the vulnerabilities they found and instructions for how to remedy them.

By Justin Ziemniak at TechNY.com

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