Glossary

Black Hat Hacker

Easy

Black hat hackers usually use malware to penetrate into computerized networks and systems to steal data.

What Is a Black Hat Hacker?

Black hat hackers usually use malware to penetrate into computerized networks and systems to steal data in most cases. Their actions are primarily driven by personal or financial gain. They can range from inexperienced to highly skilled individuals with the goal of spreading malware and stealing sensitive information, such as login passwords, as well as financial and personal data. Black hat hackers can steal, modify, or delete system data after gaining access to their targets, depending on their motivations.

Types of Hacking 

Hacking can take several forms, each of which focuses on a different aspect of the subject. Furthermore, the majority of them use various drivers.

Some hackers steal money, while others gain access to classified information from the government and assist in spying on a party. Furthermore, some are created solely to allow crooks to demonstrate their hacking abilities. We have also seen politically-driven hacktivist organizations, such as Anonymous and WikiLeaks, form in recent decades.

What Are the Types of Hacking?

Keylogging

Let's start with keylogging, which is one of the most popular methods of spying on a computer user. A keylogger is a piece of software that secretly captures what you type on your keyboard. Everything the application records is saved in a log file, allowing hackers to see your personal information, such as passwords and IDs.

Phishing

You probably already know how to fish: you put the hook onto a fishing rod and throw it into the water. Phishers perform the same thing in a phishing attack, however instead of a hook, they utilize a bogus website and deliver it to you by email. Similar to keyloggers, they also want to steal your personal data. 

Brute Force

The list of hacking methods is incomplete without the brute force attack. It is a technique that uses a computation algorithm to test all potential password combinations. The procedure might take millions of years to complete, depending on how strong the password is.

Ransomware

Imagine having to pay to access your own files. That is the whole point of ransomware hacks. Hackers encrypt your files with ransomware and then demand a ransom to unlock your data. They'll tell you how to pay for the decryption key so you can get your data back.

Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) 

This hacking approach aims to bring entire websites down and prohibit their owners from providing their services. Previously, the term "denial-of-service" or "DoS" was used to describe this type of attack. 

Large corporations are the common targets of DDoS attacks or distributed denial-of-service attacks. These are coordinated attacks against many sites, with the ability to bring all of their online assets to a halt.

Difference Between White Hat Hackers and Black Hat Hackers

Let's speak about the good folks, or white hats, now that you know what a black hat hacker is. While they are similar in some ways, their motivations are not the same.

The terms white hat and black hat are used to describe a hacker's motivations and methods. They are derived from the spaghetti westerns (from the 1950s and 1960s). Good characters wore white hats whereas evil ones wore black hats in classic western films. As a result, the phrases ethical and criminal hackers are frequently used interchangeably.

A black hat hacker, on the other hand, is more accurately depicted in the media. Hackers are those who breach systems, steal data, modify data, and jeopardize security. When it comes to reasons, people usually do it for monetary gain, political gain, or just for fun. Their attacks might range from basic malware dissemination to data theft.

An "ethical hacker" is a term used to describe a white hat hacker. These are hackers who are frequently hired by governments to secure sensitive data from black hat hackers. A penetration tester, for instance, is a relatively frequent white-hat hacker job. A penetration tester is a person who is hired to get into someone's system in order to find faults in it. These tests can assist a corporation to improve its system security. They also aid in the prevention of online fraud.