Hacker and various type of hacking

Computers have become mandatory for personal use or to run successful businesses. It is not enough to have isolated computers systems; they need to be networked to facilitate communication with external businesses. So, there are some possibilities that systems could expose in the outside world and hacking. Hacking means using computers to commit fraudulent acts such as fraud, privacy invasion, stealing corporate/personal data, etc. Cyber crimes cost many organizations millions of dollars every year. Businesses and personal data need to protect themselves against such attacks. That’s why we are going to discuss hacker and type of hacking. This will help you understand what kind of protection you require for your system and who are the faceless criminals targeting your personal or business information. Before you become proactive for your safety, it is essential to understand what you are facing or fighting.

What is Hacking?

Hacking has been a part of computing for almost five decades and it is a very broad discipline, which covers a wide range of topics. It's the act of finding the possible entry points that exist in a computer system or a computer network and finally entering into them. The first known event of hacking had taken place in 1960 at MIT and at the same time, the term "Hacker" was originated. Hacking is usually done to gain unauthorized access to a computer system or a computer network, either to harm the systems or to steal sensitive information available on the computer.

Types of Hacking

Website Hacking

Hacking a website means taking unauthorized control over a web server and its associated software such as databases and other interfaces.

Network Hacking

Hacking a network means gathering information about a network by using tools like Telnet, NSlookup, Ping, Tracert, Netstat, etc. with the intent to harm the network system and hamper its operation.

Email Hacking

It includes getting unauthorized access on an Email account and using it without taking the consent of its owner.

Ethical Hacking

Ethical hacking involves finding weaknesses in a computer or network system for testing purpose and finally getting them fixed.

Password Hacking

This is the process of recovering secret passwords from data that has been stored in or transmitted by a computer system.

Computer Hacking

This is the process of stealing computer ID and password by applying hacking methods and getting unauthorized access to a computer system.

Keylogger

A keylogger is a simple software that records the key sequence and strokes of your keyboard into a log file on your machine. These log files might even contain your personal email IDs and passwords. Also known as keyboard capturing, it can be either software or hardware. While software-based keyloggers target the programs installed on a computer, hardware devices target keyboards, electromagnetic emissions, smartphone sensors, etc. Keylogger is one of the main reasons why online banking sites give you an option to use their virtual keyboards. So, whenever you’re operating a computer in a public setting, try to take extra caution.

Denial of Service (DoS\DDoS)

A Denial of Service attack is a hacking technique to take down a site or server by flooding that site or server with a lot of traffic that the server is unable to process all the requests in the real-time and finally crashes down. This popular technique, the attacker floods the targeted machine with tons of requests to overwhelm the resources, which, in turn, restrict the actual requests from being fulfilled. For DDoS attacks, hackers often deploy botnets or zombie computers which have got the only work to flood your system with request packets. With each passing year, as the malware and types of hackers keep getting advanced, the size of DDoS attacks keeps getting increasing.

Waterhole attacks

If you are a big fan of Discovery or National Geographic channels, you could relate easily with the waterhole attacks. To poison a place, in this case, the hacker hits the most accessible physical point of the victim. Once hackers are aware of your timings, using this type of hacking, they might create a fake Wifi access point and modify your most visited website to redirect them to you to get your personal information. As this attack collects information on a user from a specific place, detecting the attacker is even harder. One of the best ways to protect yourself again such types of hacking attacks is to follow basic security practices and keep your software/OS updated.

Who is Hacker?

A computer expert who does the act of hacking is called a "Hacker". Hackers are those who seek knowledge, to understand how systems operate, how they are designed, and then attempt to play with these systems. A Hacker is a person who finds and exploits the weakness in computer systems and/or networks to gain access. Hackers are usually skilled computer programmers with knowledge of computer security.

Type of Hacker

Script Kiddie

Script Kiddies normally don’t care about hacking (if they did, they’d be Green Hats. See below.). They copy the code and use it for a virus or an SQLi or something else. Script Kiddies will never hack for themselves; they’ll just download overused software (LOIC or Metasploit, for example) and watch a YouTube video on how to use it. A common Script Kiddie attack is DoSing or DDoSing (Denial of Service and Distributed Denial of Service), in which they flood an IP with so much information it collapses under the strain. This attack is frequently used by the “hacker” group Anonymous, which doesn’t help anyone’s reputation.

White Hat

White hat hackers, also known as ethical hackers are the cybersecurity experts who help the Govt and organizations by performing penetration testing and identifying loopholes in their cybersecurity. They even do other methodologies and ensure protection from black hat hackers and other malicious cyber crimes.

Black Hat

Also known as crackers, these are the men and women you hear about in the news. They find banks or other companies with weak security and steal money or credit card information. The surprising truth about their methods of attack is that they often use common hacking practices they learned early on.

Gray Hat

Nothing is ever just black or white; the same is true in the world of hacking. Gray Hat hackers don’t steal money or information (although, sometimes they deface a website or two), yet they don’t help people for good (but, they could if they wanted to). These hackers comprise most of the hacking world, even though Black Hat hackers garner most (if not all) of the media’s attention.

Green Hat

These are the hacker “n00bz,” but unlike Script Kiddies, they care about hacking and strive to become full-blown hackers. They’re often flamed by the hacker community for asking many basic questions. When their questions are answered, they’ll listen with the intent and curiosity of a child listening to family stories.

Red Hat

These are the vigilantes of the hacker world. They’re like White Hats in that they halt Black Hats, but these folks are downright SCARY to those who have ever tried so much as PenTest. Instead of reporting the malicious hacker, they shut him/her down by uploading viruses, DoSing and accessing his/her computer to destroy it from the inside out. They leverage multiple aggressive methods that might force a cracker to need a new computer.

Blue Hat

If a Script Kiddie took revenge, he/she might become a Blue Hat. Blue Hat hackers will seek vengeance on those who’ve them angry. Most Blue Hats are n00bz, but like the Script Kiddies, they have no desire to learn.

Whistleblower

A malicious insider or a whistleblower may be an employee with a grudge or a strategic employee compromised or hired by rivals to garner trade secrets of their opponents to stay on top of their game. These hackers may take privilege from their easy access to information and their role within the company to hack the system.

Hacktivist

If you've ever come across social activists propagandizing a social, political or religious agenda, then you might as well meet hacktivist, the online version of an activist. Hacktivist is a hacker or a group of anonymous hackers who think they can bring about social changes and often hack government and organizations to gain attention or share their displeasure over opposing their line of thought.

Elite Hackers

This is a social status among hackers, which is used to describe the most skilled. Newly discovered exploits will circulate among these hackers.

Neophyte

A neophyte, "n00b", or "newbie" or "Green Hat Hacker" is someone who is new to hacking or phreaking and has almost no knowledge or experience of the workings of technology and hacking.

 

Hope this article cleared up your thoughts on the kinds of hackers out there and helped you to understand how to protect yourself from the cyber threats and different types of hackers who may use even the smallest vulnerability in your system against you. Have a secure web experience and remain protected. Thank you!