Hacking is the process of gaining unauthorized access to a computer network or an electronic device. Individuals breach into a system either to cause harm or to highlight vulnerabilities in existing security measures.
There are some others whose motives remain ambiguous or even double-sided. Hackers are of six main types-
- White Hat Hacker
- Black Hat Hacker
- Grey Hat Hacker
- Red Hat Hacker
- Hacktivist
- Script Kiddie
White Hat Hacker
White hat hackers are the ethical hackers who use their skills to discover loopholes in existing cybersecurity measures to help fix them. These individuals are in high demand from companies that routinely handle sensitive data, in addition to government agencies that are responsible for national security. In the current internet era, white hat hackers are in high demand since the number of cybercrimes has increased drastically.
Black Hat Hacker
Black hat hackers are malicious individuals in cyberspace who try and break into systems & networks to steal confidential information. In addition to stealing, a black hat hacker may also delete or modify certain crucial files to cause disruption and inflict losses. These individuals have stimulated the need for cybersecurity.
In the span of one year between 2013-14, Yahoo suffered one of the worst data breaches in history. The internet giant disclosed that nearly all the 3 billion user accounts had been compromised. The stolen data included names, dates of birth, email addresses, and passwords. Moreover, it was also revealed that hundreds of millions of phone numbers linked to Yahoo accounts have also been stolen.
Grey Hat Hacker
Grey hat hackers use methods that are similar to those of white and black hat hackers. However, they do not have any malicious intentions. These are among the most common types of hackers on the internet. A grey hat hacker may breach into a company’s private servers, but instead of stealing information, will notify the management about the vulnerability.
Red Hat Hackers
Red hat hackers are similar to policing agents on the internet. They actively search for black hat hackers and shut them down. Whenever they find one, they don’t report the hacker to the authorities, but take matters into their own hands. A red hat hacker will hack the would-be attackers’ computer and halt their malicious activities.
Hacktivist
Hacktivists are hackers who seek to garner publicity for a certain cause by hacking into the systems or websites of relevant organizations. A Hacktivist may deface the website of a particular company or government agency to protest against certain policies and bring it to the public’s attention and raise awareness.
Script Kiddies
A script kiddie is an amateur hacker who is only aware of basic hacking techniques. Script kiddies are unlikely to cause significant damage. Such people mainly use open-source hacking software or borrow it from people they know. Script kiddies don’t pose significant threat to anyone’s data and are potential hackers at best. Such individuals can deface a poorly protected website or slow it down by redirecting more traffic.
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