It Security Defense Against the Digital Dark Arts Vpn

Contents

• What do hackers practice?
• Types of hackers
  • White hat hacker
  • Blueish lid hacker
  • Black hat hacker
  • Script kiddies
  • Grey hat hacker
  • Hacktivist or red lid hacker
  • Green hacker
  • Whistleblower hacker
  • Aristocracy hacker
  • Cryptojackers
  • Gaming hackers
  • Botnets: large-scale hackers
• Famous hackers
  • Kevin Mitnick
  • Kevin Poulsen
  • Jude Milhon
• How to stay rubber from black hatters

What do hackers do?

A hacker is someone who uses his or her advanced computer knowledge to exploit security loopholes in digital devices or software/apps. The term was first used in the early '80s and slowly grew more widespread. Sci-fi movies and novels as well popularized the term and fifty-fifty romanticized it (e.g., through movies like Wargames and Hackers). As our lives become more and more digitized, hackers only become more and more than significant, and can even, at times, be funny.

Hackers practise more than merely gain unauthorized access to a computer system. Hacker civilisation as well ways innovation and creativity. Hackers explore the limitations of software, search for advanced protection solutions, and abet for internet freedom.

Types of hackers

White hat hacker

These are ethical hackers who employ their noesis for generally acceptable or legal purposes. They are computer security experts who hack into systems to evaluate their security flaws and suggest potential improvements. They can work with organizations and companies to amend their security or as freelancers who fulfill security bounties for cash rewards.

White hats or upstanding hackers can likewise operate as mod-24-hour interval Robin Hood successors. They could use black-hat techniques to subvert laws or steal from corporations for good ways (for example, betrayal some info useful for public interest, help society, etc.). They can likewise help companies track down and catch blackness hatters (for example, by using a honeypot).

Blue hat hacker

There are as well blue chapeau hackers. Software companies hire their hacking techniques to look for software security vulnerabilities before its launch. They do problems tests to discover weak spots so developers could set up them. The difference from white-hat hackers is that blueish hats are outsourced from external companies. However, they could still be treated as upstanding hackers or a sub-group of white hats.

Black hat hacker

Black hats use their hacking techniques for various illegal and sometimes criminal activities. These include:

• Stealing information, online identities or money;
• Hacking systems for challenge or entertainment;
• Distributing dissimilar types of malware;
• Spying on individuals, companies or even countries to obtain confidential data or commit identity theft;
• Swell software digital rights protection for illegal utilize;
• Stalking people.

Apart from trying to gain unauthorized access to your system straight, these hackers might too utilize social engineering measures for identity theft, or other malicious intent. In this case, you will provide access by clicking on a malicious link or downloading dodgy apps.

Black hat hackers are the blazon you lot ordinarily need to look out for. We've covered many of their hacking techniques on our weblog. These can include IP fragmentation or the creation of malware or viruses.

Script kiddies

Script kiddies are hackers who exclusively employ scripts developed by others to acquit out digital mischief. Hackers sometimes look down on them, since hackers are usually supposed to be capable of hacking without premade tools or of building their own. However, script kiddies still utilize real hacking tools, so can still do some harm. Script kiddies are also active in the gaming community.

Grey hat hacker

Grey hat hackers fall somewhere between black and white hats. They usually hack for more pragmatic or selfish purposes, to gain access to your computer system, for instance – rather than for the systematic development of security systems. Grey-hats normally act unethically and illegally, merely they don't engage in the criminal activities that blackness hat hackers do.

For example, a gray hatter may observe a loophole in your system without you lot hiring him or her, notify you, but only agree to fix information technology for a certain sum of money. Or they may not report information technology at all.

Hacktivist or ruby hat hacker

Hacktivists (also known as cerise hat hackers) perform hacks to convey a political, ideological, social, or religious message. They also might expose confidential information for various reasons (east.grand., advocating liberty of information, making a statement, etc.). Their hacktivism can as well exist a part of a broader campaign, and it is ordinarily a continuous process rather than a one-off affair. Some examples of hacktivism include the activities of WikiLeaks, the Anonymous motility, etc.

Green chapeau hacker

Also known equally "hackers-in-training" green hackers are new to the hacking world and are focused on learning and growing their skills. Quite often, green chapeau hackers will aspire to mimic cyberattacks carried out by black hat hackers. In outcome, light-green lid hackers have the potential to learn and be concious of the good they can practise in the world – or they can go embroiled in the dark-arts of black hat hacking. Which is never practiced news.

Whistleblower hacker

Commonly (and sometimes unfairly) known as "malicious insider hackers" these guys are for the people. Whistleblower hackers attack the company they work for to reveal illegal activity, although some whistleblower hackers have acted on a personal grudge with malicious intentions.

Famous whistleblowers include; Edward Snowden (WikiLeaks), John Kopchinski (Pfizer), Cheryl Eckhard (GlaxoSmithKline), and Katherin Gun (British authorities translator).

Responsible for shining light on the darkest parts of our society, the actions of some whistleblower hackers have helped to revolutionize industry and empower ordinary people.

• Katherine Gun (played by Keira Knightley in the 2019 pic Official Secrets) was a British authorities translator, who revealed that the United states of america had been eavesdropping on diplomats from other countries. Gun photocopied a United states government memo demanding Government Communications Headquarters assist sway the UN to back strikes against Republic of iraq in 2003.
• Edward Snowden was an American computer intelligence consultant who leaked highly classified information on the National Security Agency. Snowden revealed how the US government eavesdrop on citizens and in his own words has stated; "I cannot allow the government to destroy privacy, internet freedom and basic liberties for people effectually the world with this massive surveillance motorcar they're secretly building."
• John Kopchinksi sued Pfizer (the company he worked for) for engaging in the off-label marketing of Bextra, a painkiller, in unsafe doses for unnaproved, unsafe uses. While Kopchinski may not have used "hacking" ways to free the people, he follows in the same vein every bit his cyber counterparts, adding; "In the army I was expected to protect people at all costs, at Pfizer I was expected to increase profits at all costs, fifty-fifty when sales meant endangering lives."

Aristocracy hacker

Aristocracy hackers are the best of the best when information technology comes to hacking. Often targeting loftier-revenue organizations, they invent new ways to attack, are experts in ransomware and extortion and may even operate in criminal gangs.

Samsung, Sony, Adobe, Yahoo, Facebook, Garmin, and CNA, take all been held at ransom by hackers for millions of dollars. In fact, notorious hacker-gangs like Lapsus$ and Bearding are proof that hacking has the power to exist as skillful as it is bad. While Lapsus$ has been known to extort millions from companies, Anonymous operate as net activists with members all over the world. Political by nature, Anonymous have taken down government websites, held mass protests, and have even launched attacks on Russia to undermine Valdimir Putin and the war on Ukraine.

Cryptojackers

Cryptojackers exploit network weaknesses and hijack reckoner resources as a manner to mine for cryptocurrencies. Cryptojackers volition spread malware by planting it accross the web, in the hope that you'll get infected. Infections are hard to spot and malware tends to run in the background sending results dorsum to the hacker.

Dissimilar typical hackers cryptojackers aren't interested in stealing y'all information. They would rather utilise the processing power of your device to fuel a much larger auto to mine far and wide for cryptocurrencies.

Gaming hacker

Gaming hackers try to steal other players credit caches or crusade distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks to force them out of the game.

A DDoS attack will floods a server with internet traffic to finish users from being able to access certain websites and online services. If you're worried about this and then always use a VPN when you're gaming. NordVPN protects you against DDoS attacks and also secures your information online – all you take to do is switch on the app.

Botnets: large-scale hackers

Botnet hackers are malware coders who create bots to perform cyberattacks accross every bit many devices as possible. Bots await for unsecured devices like routers that still have their default logins, cameras and other IoT devices to constitute themselves in. Botnets tin can be used by the hacker who created it or they can be bought ready-made on the dark web for other hackers to use.

Famous hackers

Here are just a few examples of famous hackers:

Kevin Mitnick

This guy is one of the main inspirations for the motion-picture show WarGames, in which a hacker accesses a US supercomputer used to predict outcomes of nuclear war and initiates a war simulation. In the early 1980s he hacked the Northward American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), which is responsible for Usa air defence force. He also infamously hacked the Pacific Bell and Digital Equipment Corporation networks. After serving years in prison, Kevin ultimately became a white hat hacker.

Kevin Poulsen

Kevin managed to take over all the phone lines of Los Angeles radio station KIIS-FM to win a Porsche. Later, he pursued a journalist'south career and developed software for secure communications between journalists and their sources.

Jude Milhon

Jude started a hacking group called Cypherpunks. She was one of the primeval hacktivists to abet for privacy and women'southward rights. She also participated in the Ceremonious Rights Motion and wrote a few books on politically and socially conscious hacking.

How to stay safe from black hatters

• Update your security software;
• Do non expose your info publicly or to people y'all don't know;
• Do not open suspicious links, emails or messages;
• Use strong passwords and double-factor authentication;
• Only download software from trusted websites;
• Use a VPN to aid safeguard your traffic.

Online security starts with a click.

Stay safe with the world's leading VPN

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Paulius Ilevičius Verified author

Paulius Ilevičius is a applied science and fine art enthusiast who is e'er eager to explore the well-nigh up-to-engagement bug in cybersec and internet freedom. He is always in search for new and unexplored angles to share with his readers.

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Source: https://nordvpn.com/blog/what-is-a-hacker/

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