Hacking refers to the unauthorized access, manipulation, or exploitation of computer systems, networks, or data. It involves finding and exploiting vulnerabilities in systems for various purposes, including gaining unauthorized access, stealing information, disrupting operations, or causing damage.
Hackers:
The term "hacker" has evolved over time and can be used in different contexts:
White Hat Hackers: Ethical hackers who use their skills to help organizations identify and fix security vulnerabilities. They work to improve system security.
Black Hat Hackers: Malicious hackers who exploit vulnerabilities for personal gain, often involving theft, damage, or unauthorized access.
Grey Hat Hackers: Individuals who may act both ethically and unethically, depending on the situation. They may expose vulnerabilities but without proper authorization.
Hacktivists: Individuals or groups who hack for political, social, or environmental causes to promote their agenda or beliefs.
Types of Hackers:
There are many types of hackers. We shall have a look at all and try to understand the difference between them. The types are as follows:
White Hat or The ethical hackers. Black Hat Hackers Gray Hackers Script Kiddies Green Hat Hackers Blue Hat Hackers Red Hat Hackers State/Nation Sponsored Hackers.
Understanding each in Detail: We shall now focus on each one of the hacker types.
- White Hat Hackers or The ethical Hackers: White Hackers or ethical hackers are the ones who log into the system to test or evaluate its security and do not have a malicious intention rather they are focused on helping the organisation or a said enterprise in bettering its security measures.
For instance, many enterprises hire ethical hackers to keep a check on the security of their in-house systems. They are always handsomely paid and have bright aspects for jobs always, be it freelancing as well.
- Black Hat Hackers: Black Hat Hackers is used to defining people who practice hacking to break into computer networks with malicious intent, they are mostly criminals. They may also release malware that works to destroy files, they hold computers hostage. They steal passwords, credit card numbers and other personal information as well. The damage this can cause is immense, often the damage is such that it can not be combated.
One instance of Balck Hat Hackers is anti-national data breaches that happen so as to seek data of importance to harm the country and put a nation’s security at stake as well.
Gray Hat Hackers: Gray hat hacker is a term used to refer to individuals, who perform both a mix of black Hat Activities and White Hat Activities. Hence called Gray Hat. They generally hack a system, without the permission of the owner, learn of the vulnerabilities in that system and tell the owner. They often ask for a price to fix the issue they find in the system. This isn’t considered criminal activity but it isn’t completely ethical as well.
Script Kiddies: They are also amateur hackers, this comes across as a derogatory term, coined by other hackers, who have expertise in this. People who hack into computers or systems but they do not have their own scripts or codes rather they use already existing scripts and codes.
Green Hat Hackers : A green hat hacker is an amateur or a newbie in the world of hacking. As to say the green hackers may not be well versed or even be familiar with all the security mechanisms of the company or the ones being used by an individual. They may or may not be well versed with the inner workings of the web, like other categories of hackers.
Blue Hat Hackers: This term, Blue Hat Hacker is used to refer to individuals outside computer security consulting firms that are employed to bug test a system prior to its launch, trying to look for exploits so that they can be shut down.
Red Hat Hackers: Red Hat Hacker is a term used when referring to hackers who target Linux Systems. They are categorised as vigilantes. Similar to white hats, red hats also seek to disarm black hats, although the methodologies of these two groups vary largely and quite significantly.
State/Nation Sponsored Hackers: The Nation/State sponsored Hackers are hackers who have a “Licence to Hack”. They are employed by the government, they work for the government to disrupt or compromise target governments, organisations or be it, or individuals, in order to gain access to data of value and paramount importance, or intelligence that is potent in creating incidents that have international significance.