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In common parlance the term hacker can be used to describe a

person who illegally gains access to and sometimes tampers with information in a computer system

I wold like to know what term should be used to describe the opposite, namely someone who defends against a hacker to prevent the hacker from achieving her/his goal.

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    Hackers aren't only people who gain illegal access. There is such thing as an ethical hacker- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Certified_Ethical_Hacker. – Karlomanio Feb 11 at 18:49
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    Yeah, "hacker", as a term for a computer geek, has a long history (back to the early 70s at least), and has had a range of meanings and implications. – Hot Licks Feb 11 at 19:05
  • @karlomanio "Ethical hacker" is almost an answer. Originally they penetrated system security, did no damage, but left calling cards hoping to be paid for consultancy work but now that's illegal and they are now contracted to do the same by invitation. – BoldBen Feb 11 at 19:31
  • @BoldBen It is indeed... – Karlomanio Feb 11 at 19:32
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    'hacker' has many meanings. I think you are thinking of the evil version of a hacker, and there the counterpart would be 'white hat' (where you really are thinking of a hacker as a black hat. Is that the case? – Mitch Feb 11 at 20:14
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A Computer Security Specialist. From chron.com:

What Does a Computer Security Specialist Do?
Computer security is of utmost importance to company managers responsible for protecting their company’s information assets. Computer security specialists, or information security analysts, are responsible for protecting those assets on a day-to-day basis. A computer specialist’s job is to make sure only authorized people gain access to confidential information.

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    Also Security Software Engineer or Cyber Security Engineer – Jim Feb 11 at 20:39
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Opposite of a hacker is a user. Someone who follows the rules and doesn't explore the system.

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  • Please add a source to support your answer. – JJJ Mar 25 at 16:29

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