“Every Coin has Two Sides, So Does Hacking”
If you are fond of movies, you must have watched at least one movie that is based around hacking. A typical movie hacker wears a hoodie while using his system to perform binary actions. He can use his computer and gain god-like powers. Though the description is not as accurate in real life, the hackers can act as God once they gain unauthorized access to any server or system.
Well, the above description is just scratching the surface of cyber-crime world. There are various types of hackers that are categorized according to the amount of mischief they can cause. These categories are White Hat Hacker, Black Hat Hacker, and Gray Hat Hacker. Basically, the motivation behind any attack determines the type of hacker.
So now pack your gear and let’s start exploring the huge cyber world.
Black Hat Criminals are the ones who break into computer networks with a malicious purpose. They may upload or inject malware that destroys files, holds computers hostage, or steal credentials like credit card details, passwords, etc.
They use these practices just for the sake of personal urges. They might be looking to get revenge, financial gain, or simply create chaos. Sometimes their motivation can be targeting people they strongly disagree with.
A black hat hacker starts as a novice who uses purchased tools to exploit vulnerabilities. Some of them are trained under a professional with the motivation of making quick money. Professional black hat hackers work for criminal organizations that can provide the required tools for hacking.
They also have the reach to provide their services to individuals just like any business. Black hat malware kits are sold on the dark web just like a full-fledged piece of technology. It comes with complete warranty and customer service.
Black hat hackers often develop special abilities such as phishing or managing remote access tools. A lot of these hacker's secure jobs at multinationals through forums and other connections on the dark web. A lot of them develop and sell malicious software themselves, but many prefer to work through franchising or leasing arrangements.
Hacking has now become an integral intelligence-gathering tool for governments. However, it is more common for black hat hackers to work alone or with organized crime entities for fast money.
Hacking can operate like a big business. The huge scale makes it easy to distribute malicious software. These organizations have partners, resellers, vendors, as well as associates. They buy and sell licenses for malware to other malicious organizations for use in new regions or markets.
There are some black hat organizations that have call centers that make outbound calls for them. They pretend to be from a legitimate technology organization. They try and convince potential victims to give them remote access to systems.
By granting access or downloading recommended software, a loophole is created in the customer’s system. This loophole can be used to dig out information such as banking credentials. The hackers can also use these systems to launch attacks on other systems without consent.
Other types of black hat attacks are smooth and automated. It does not involve or require human contact. In these cases, attack bots are spread on the internet that are always looking for unprotected computers to infiltrate.
Black hat hacking is a global problem that makes it extremely difficult to stop. Hackers leave very little evidence which makes it difficult for law enforcement to find and stop these malpractitioners. Most of the time, the location of a hacker does not come under the jurisdiction.
Sometimes authorities succeed in shutting down a hacking site in one country, but the same operation might start running somewhere else at the same time.
White Hat Hackers and black hat hackers are opposite to one another. They are also known as ethical hackers. They exploit systems and networks to identify security vulnerabilities so that organizations can improve their infrastructure.
White hat hackers use their skills to uncover security risks that can be an easy way in for hackers. Mostly they are paid employees or private contractors that work for companies as security specialists. The job of these hackers is to find gaps in security.
White hat hackers are one big reason why big organizations do not face huge downtime. Their websites are also very secure and cannot be attacked easily. Most hackers understand that it will be harder to get into systems that are managed by large companies than small organizations.
They target small organizations because they do not have the resources to properly examine every possible security leak.
A small set of these hackers include penetration testers or “pen testers” who focus specifically on finding vulnerabilities and assessing risks within systems.
White hat hackers use the same techniques as black hat hackers, but they seek the owner's permission to do so. This makes the process completely legal. Instead of exploiting vulnerabilities to spread code, white-hat hackers work with network operators in order to fix loopholes before someone else finds it.
The skills of a White Hat Hacker include:
Social engineering is widely used by white-hat hackers to figure out weaknesses in an organization's “human” defenses. It is all about tricking and manipulating victims, so they perform actions relevant to the hacker.
The penetration test focuses on uncovering vulnerabilities and weaknesses in an organization’s defenses so they can be rectified.
This method is used to discover vulnerabilities within the physical and IT infrastructure. The main objective is to gain information that helps determine the ways to legally bypass security controls and mechanisms without damaging or breaking anything.
In this process, white hat hackers create honeypots that serve as decoys to attract cybercriminals and distract them. It is also used to gain relevant information about hackers.
This includes hardware devices that allow penetration testers to install bots or other malware and gain access to the network.
Various organizations even organize events to find vulnerabilities. It is a win-win for organizations as well as participants. The winners are awarded handsomely, and the companies can work on their unexplored security vulnerabilities.
The main difference between White hat hackers and Black hat hackers is their motivation.
Black hat hackers gain access to systems with malicious intentions. All they want is to get some personal gains. It can be money, revenge, blackmail, or chaos. They keep looking for different loopholes in the security that they can use as their path into the system.
On the other hand, white hat hackers work with organizations to identify weaknesses in the systems. They try to keep regular updates of the cyber-crime world and inform the organization about the same. They help organizations implement the best possible security infrastructure that cannot be bypassed by any black hat hacker.
A region between white and black hat hackers is the area of Gray Hat Hackers. These hackers are a kind of both black and white hat hackers.
Gray hat hackers gain access to a user's system or network without their permission. If he finds any vulnerability, they report it to the users. The user can be anyone from individuals to organizations. After finding the vulnerability they ask for a small fee in order to fix the issue.
Mostly a gray hat hacker’s intention is to show off their skills. They want to gain fame and appreciation from the public. Though they never misuse the power of gaining access without permission, companies do not like unauthorized entries in their business infrastructure.
After learning so much about hackers, it is quite understandable that the internet is a world separate from our world. Here people of all interests have the power to do what they want. With adequate skills and knowledge, anyone can get access to any system in the world. This creates the picture of insecurity that the digital world is facing today.
Managing an organization’s safety is a vital function for any entity. It is often advised that one should outsource IT security to IT professionals such as Cyber Cops.
We have expert professionals who have ample knowledge of the cyber field. We will make sure your crucial information is kept untouched by the hands of malpractitioners. Hence, keeping you protected from all sorts of attacks.
Cyber Cops will help you create a strong security foundation for your business to grow while being unharmed by the actions of malpractitioners.