The term ‘hack’ started as a slang word for a shortcut—a quick solution that MIT computer science students looked for. Because using computers was expensive, a programming shortcut could save both time and money. Finding these shortcuts became something to be proud of, and the students who found them started calling themselves hackers. This made hacking a competitive activity among them.
Note: This article is part of our archival content and belongs to a previous phase of our publication. Amaranth Magazine is now a dedicated literary magazine.
A hacker is someone who is very good at solving computer problems and uses their skills in computers, networks, and programming to access systems without permission.
Although many people think of them as cybercriminals, a hacker is not always a bad person. The term “hacker” describes people who use their computer programming or technical skills to overcome challenges or solve problems, weather in a positive or negative context.
For example, a hacker can identify software vulnerabilities in a program. This helps the developer prevent other hackers from exploiting these weaknesses.
Sometimes a hacker tries to access computer systems or networks that they are not authorized to access. For instance, they may engage in activities such as installing malware, stealing or destroying data, disrupting services, and more.
Therefore, hackers, based on their intentions, may exploit their knowledge, intelligence, and creativity for malicious purposes or utilize them to enhance security. In general, some hackers cause harm while others work to prevent it.
In this article, we will explore the concept of hacking and the identity of hackers and we delve into its different forms.
What are the different types of hackers?
Hackers are divided into three main categories (white hat, black hat, grey hat) and three subcategories (red hat and green hat, blue hat), which are less recognized. In fact, they are recognized based on the color of their hats.
White Hats: White hats or ethical hackers, use their skills in a positive manner. They are hired by companies to enhance their cybersecurity and identify vulnerabilities using penetration testing.
They improve security measures and address security issues before the attackers exploit them.
Black Hats: Black hats seek to gain unauthorized access to networks and systems. They may steal data, spread malware damage systems using DDoS attacks. They identity theft, fraudulent activities, and other harmful actions.
In 2012, the hacking of a password by black hats compromised over 78 million Dropbox accounts and led to disruption for major companies.
Gray Hats: Gray hats operate in a gray area between white hat and black hats. They try to gain unauthorized access to specific computer systems out of curiosity. Instead of stealing information or disrupting website security, they may report their findings to the target owner, highlighting vulnerabilities and offering to fix them for a fee. However, this type of hacking is still considered illegal.
Red Hats: These hackers, similar to White Hats, aim to prevent attacks from Black Hat or unethical hackers and ensure network security.
Red Hats may hack into systems and destroy data to stop Black Hat hackers.
They are often seen as vigilantes, and their actions are not always legal.
Instead of stopping Black Hats and handing them over to authorities, Red Hat Hackers often retaliate with cyber-attacks.
Blue Hats: Blue Hat is a term for outside computer security firms hired to do bug testing on a system before it goes live. Their job is to find any weaknesses or gaps hackers could exploit and fix them before launch. Microsoft uses the term for the computer security folks they bring in to find vulnerabilities in products like Windows.
Green Hats: Green Hat Hackers are inexperienced hackers who seek to learn and enhance their standing among other hackers. Because of their limited knowledge, they may inadvertently cause harm or damage.
What is the Purpose of Hackers’ Activities?
Hackers are everywhere, but you might mistakenly think your system is not of interest to them due to its small size or lack of important information. However, we must remember that hackers do not always target specific computers. They control many computers to find security vulnerabilities. A hacker might be a company employee who damages the company’s systems for revenge, or someone who uses your system to attack another system, or someone who exploits your computer to infiltrate other networks. Generally, it can be said that hackers have several major reasons for hacking, which are as follows.
Hacking to Showcase Skills: This type of hacking is less about destruction and threats. Remember, to hack into network systems, a person must have a sufficient basic level of knowledge. Some individuals hack into networks to showcase their knowledge and skills, leaving behind a trace to prove their penetration and announce their capabilities.
Hacking to Highlight Security Weaknesses: In this type of hacking, the intention is not to destroy or threaten. Instead, the hacker tries to inform management about the network’s security weaknesses. In some cases, the hacker may even offer to help fix the flaws and strengthen network security.
Revenge Hacking: This type of hacking is very dangerous and troublesome. In these attacks, the hacker aims to destroy the system as much as possible and cause irreparable damage. Hard competition with rivals is one motivation for hackers with revenge intentions. In some cases, certain websites and networks can threaten national, group, or individual interests. In response, the hacker attempts to destroy and disable the targeted network or website, sometimes posting their grievances on the main page of the compromised website.
Hacking for Theft: This may be one of the strongest motivations for hacking. This type of intrusion is often carried out through identity theft or phishing. The hacker may want to exploit the information obtained from a website or network or demand a ransom to refrain from disclosing confidential information. Hacking into bank networks and manipulating customer accounts can be a good example of hacking to access personal or company information.
Hacking for Fun: Sometimes actions are taken without any particular reason. Occasionally, hacking is done without any specific purpose. For instance, hackers sometimes intrude and damage networks out of boredom, for fun, or simply to show off. This type of hacking, because it is blind and without reason, can be dangerous but sometimes may resemble a prank.
What is the Solution?
Now that we understand what hacking is and what hackers aim to achieve, the question arises: how should we counter hacking and hacker intrusions? The best way to combat hackers is by enhancing the security of computer systems. This can be achieved through acquiring both software and hardware solutions. Never rely on a single method to maintain security; always update to the latest versions of software and control user access to information. In subsequent articles in this series, we will discuss in detail the various methods hackers use to infiltrate systems and the ways to improve system security to prevent hacking.
References:
– https://www.britannica.com/topic/hacker
– https://www.techtarget.com/searchsecurity/answer/What-is-red-and-white-hat-hacking
– https://proton.me/blog/dropbox-security-issues#:~:text=2012%3A%20Dropbox%20breach%2C%2078%20million%20passwords%20compromised&text=So%20far%2C%20so%20good%2C%20but,attackers%20access%20to%20Dropbox%27s%20systems.
