HACKING means INNOVATION

What is known as cyber hacking?

There is no term like cyber hacking. Let me first clear this:
Hacker means a person who enjoys playing with computer systems and learning the details. They stretch their capabilities in computers.
Hacking is the rapid development of new programs or the reverse engineering of already existing software to make the code better, and efficient. In the other words, we can say that HACKING means INNOVATION. Cracker is a person who uses his hacking skills for offensive purposes. He is a BAD guy. Ethical Hacker is a security expert who applies his hacking skills for defensive purposes

Which are the loopholes that can lead to hacking?

There is a system flaw in every computer system. It doesn’t matter how powerful system you have, how many different firewall programs you run or how many virus scanners you have. In the end you are your system’s worst enemy.
Social Engineering: This is a term used among “hackers” for techniques that rely on weaknesses in people rather than software; the goal is to trick people into revealing passwords or other information that compromises an individual system's security.

What precautions must a person take to prevent his site from being hacked?

Here are some things you can do to minimize the chances you’ll end up getting hacked and maximize the chances to fully recover quickly should your site crash (for whatever reason).
1. Use Strong Passwords.
Make your passwords not only hard to guess, but make them more difficult for sophisticated hackers to break as well. Randomly mix in special characters (found on the number keys with the shift button) as well as numbers and upper and lower case letters.

2. Keep Your Website Updated.

One of the most common ways websites get hacked is because their owners don’t keep their software up to date. If you don’t update your software, you leave yourself exposed.

3. Backup Regularly and Often.
A good backup can cover for a ton of other issues by making it possible to revert back to how things were before your site crashed.
I don’t believe any site is completely “hack proof.” But if you do these three things you will greatly reduce your risk of being hacked and make it much easier to recover if you encounter any problem.

Why hacking has become passion among the new generation?

Mostly you’ll find the individuals with slightly higher computer skills consider themselves as hackers. They glorify themselves on the accomplishments of others. Their idea of classing themselves as a hacker is that of acquire programs and utilities readily available on the net, use these programs with no real knowledge of how these applications work and if they manage to “break” into someone’s system class themselves as a hacker. These individuals are called “Kiddie Hackers.” These individuals are usually high school students. They brag about their accomplishments to their friends and try to build an image of being hackers.
Real hackers target mainly government institutions. They believe important information can be found within government institutions. To them the risk is worth it. Higher the element of security, better the challenge. Who is the best keyboard cowboy? So to speak! They don’t particularly care about bragging about their accomplishments as it exposes them to suspicion. They prefer to work from behind the scenes and preserve their anonymity.

Does this require any specific training?

YES. It is important to bear in mind that hackers break into a system for various reasons and purposes. It is therefore critical to understand how malicious hackers exploit systems and the probable reasons behind the attacks.
As Sun Tzu says in the 'Art of War', "If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained, you will also suffer a defeat."
It is the duty of the system administrators and network security professionals to guard their infrastructure against exploits by knowing the enemy (the malicious hacker(s) who seek to use the very infrastructure for illegal activities).

How one can create awareness?

Awareness can be created by conducting Hacking workshops. Such workshops can be a medium to spread awareness about the tools and methods used by hackers to steal credit card and other confidential data. One can also learn more about the best known industry tools and the countermeasures used to protect against such hacks.

What are the different types of hacking?

Website Hacking - Cross site scripting (XSS), Local file inclusion (LFI), Remote file inclusion (RFI), Denial of Service (DOS), Distributed DoSs, SQL injection, Buffer Overflow
Email Hacking - Spoofing, Back Doors, Trojan Horses, Keyloggers, BruteForce, Social Engineering, Phishing, Fake Messengers, Cookie Stealer
Network Hacking - Denial of Service (DOS), Distributed DoSs, Sniffing, Viruses and Worms, DNS Poisoning or PHARMING, Whaling, Buffer Overflow
Password Hacking - Spoofing, Sniffing, Back Doors, Trojan Horses, Keyloggers, BruteForce, Social Engineering, Phishing, Fake Messengers, Cookie Stealer

Can hacking be considered as a profession?

Yes. 'Ethical Hacker' is now an accepted industry term. Ethical hacking is broadly defined as the methodology adopted by ethical hackers to discover the vulnerabilities existing in information systems' operating environments. Ethical hackers usually employ the same tools and techniques as criminal attackers, but they neither damage the target systems nor steal information, thereby maintaining the integrity and confidentiality of the systems. Their job is to evaluate the security of targets of evaluation and update the organization regarding the vulnerabilities of the discovered and appropriate recommendations to mitigate the same.