DIFFERENT TYPES OF HACKERS
Welcome back to my blog. With this post, I will be talking about my favorite types of hackers(I will not be talking about black hat, white hat, or grey hat hackers) I have come across in my studies. According to Malwarebytes.com, hacking is an unlawful activity performed by cybercriminals motivated by financial gain, protest, information gathering (spying), and even just for the “fun” of the challenge. The four main types of hackers that I will be talking about are script kiddies, insider threats, nation-states, and hacktivists.
A script kiddie is a hacker that uses code or software found on the internet to hack people. A script kiddie sometimes finds scripts online that can launch an SQL injection attacks that can steal administrators' passwords. SQL injection is the act of running SQL scripts inside of website fields(search bar, password field, or username field). Input validation is a way to prevent SQL injection. Dangerous SQL injection scripts can be found on the dark web. Script kiddies may also use a VPN to try to hide their location. Script kiddies can be dangerous. The motives of these types of hackers are money, entertainment, or even sometimes jealousy.
An insider threat is usually a disgruntled employee seeking revenge on the company they work for. An insider threat will often leak a company's new product ideas online after being fired. Insider threats actors can be hard to identify. An upset employee may also create a logic bomb to go off after they are officially fired. A logic bomb is a special type of script or virus that can be triggered by an event. A date, time, or even deleting an account can trigger a logic bomb. It is important to trust your employees to not leak your information online but also making sure you are practicing the act of least privilege. The act of least privilege just makes sure users have just enough access to just their job and nothing more. These types of hackers are usually seeking revenge.
A nation sponsored hacker is most likely a spy trying to gather information on a competing nation or country. For example, an FBI agent could hack another country’s military headquarters main server and install an advanced persistent threat. An advanced persistent threat is a type of attack that is extremely hard to detect. If you were hit with an advanced persistent threat you may not even know it. Nation sponsored hackers have access to more resources and money so their attacks will be very advanced. These types of hackers are mostly just doing their job. They hack for a living.
Hacktivists seek justice for something for pollical, criminal, or economic events they feel were not handled properly. A hacktivist group would be the type of hackers to leak a governor’s private emails if they feel like he has handled people unjustly. Hacktivists' skills range from script kiddies to elite hackers. They move as a collective. The motives for hacktivists are fighting against “the man” and being a voice for civilians that can't fight back.
I want to leave with these two questions. Which hacker type to feel is the most interesting? Which hacker type do you feel is the most dangerous?
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