Essentially, what determines the type of hacker is their motivation and whether they are breaking the law. Black hat hackers are criminals who break into computer networks with malicious intent. They may also release malware that destroys files, holds computers hostage, or steals passwords, credit card numbers, and other personal information.
Black hats are motivated by self-serving reasons, such as financial gain, revenge, or simply to spread havoc. Sometimes their motivation might be ideological, by targeting people they strongly disagree with.
Black hat hackers often start as novice " script kiddies " using purchased hacker tools to exploit security lapses. Some are trained to hack by bosses eager to make money quickly. The leading black hats tend to be skilled hackers who work for sophisticated criminal organizations which sometimes provide collaboration tools for their workers and offer service agreements to customers, just like legitimate businesses.
Black hat malware kits sold on the dark web occasionally even include warranties and customer service. Black hat hackers often develop specialties, such as phishing or managing remote access tools. Many get their "jobs" through forums and other connections on the dark web. Some develop and sell malicious software themselves, but others prefer to work through franchises or leasing arrangements — again, similar to the legitimate business world.
Hacking has become an integral intelligence-gathering tool for governments, but it is more common for black hat hackers to work alone or with organized crime organizations for easy money. Hacking can operate like big business, the scale of which makes it easy to distribute malicious software. Organizations boast partners, resellers, vendors, and associates, and they buy and sell licenses for malware to other criminal organizations for use in new regions or markets. Some black hat organizations even have call centers, which they use to make outbound calls, pretending to work for a well-known technology organization such as Microsoft.
In this scam, the hacker tries to convince potential victims to allow remote access to their computers or download software. By granting access or downloading the recommended software, the victim inadvertently enables criminals to harvest passwords and banking information or surreptitiously take over the computer and use it to launch attacks on others. To add further insult, the victim is typically charged an exorbitant fee for this "help.
Other hacks are swift and automated and don't involve human contact. In these cases, attack bots roam the internet to find unprotected computers to infiltrate, often through phishing, malware attachments, or links to compromised websites.
Black hat hacking is a global problem, which makes it extremely difficult to stop. The challenges for law enforcement are that hackers often leave little evidence, use the computers of unsuspecting victims, and cross multiple jurisdictions.
Although authorities sometimes succeed in shutting down a hacking site in one country, the same operation may run elsewhere, allowing the group to keep going. One of the most famous black hat hackers is Kevin Mitnick, who, at one point, was the most wanted cybercriminal in the world.
He was subsequently arrested and served time in jail. Following his release, he became a cybersecurity consultant who uses his hacking knowledge for white hat hacking purposes. Another well-known example is Tsutomu Shimomura, who is a cybersecurity expert credited with tracking down Kevin Mitnick. He was one of the leading researchers who first raised awareness of cell phones' lack of security and privacy.
The founder of Neofocal Systems used his security skills for ethical purposes and played a crucial role in bringing Kevin Mitnick to justice. His book Takedown was later adapted to a film called Track Down. They exploit computer systems or networks to identify their security flaws so they can make recommendations for improvement.
White hat hackers use their capabilities to uncover security failings to help safeguard organizations from dangerous hackers. They can sometimes be paid employees or contractors working for companies as security specialists who attempt to find gaps in security.
White hat hackers are one reason large organizations typically have less downtime and experience fewer issues with their websites. Most hackers know it will be harder to get into systems managed by large companies than those operated by small businesses that probably don't have the resources to examine every possible security leak. White hat hackers use the same hacking methods as black hats, but the key difference is they have the permission of the system owner first, which makes the process completely legal.
If you watch the news and keep up with technology, you know what a hacker is, but you may not realize hackers fall into different categories known as Black Hat, White Hat, and Gray Hat. The terms derive from the color coding scheme found in s westerns, where the bad guys wore black hats, and the good guys wore white or other light colors. Black Hat hackers are criminals who break into computer networks with malicious intent. They may also release malware that destroys files, holds computers hostage, or steals passwords, credit card numbers, and other personal information.
While hacking might have become a major intelligence gathering tool for governments, it's still more common for Black Hats to work alone or with organized crime organizations for easy money.
The WannaCry ransomware released in May is one example. Within the first two weeks of its release, it infected approximately , computers in countries. Many Black Hat hackers started as novice "script kiddies" using purchased hacker tools to exploit security lapses. Some were trained to hack by bosses eager to make a fast buck. The upper echelon of Black Hats tends to be skilled hackers who work for sophisticated criminal organizations that sometimes provide collaboration tools for their workers and offer service agreements to customers, just like legitimate businesses.
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While this perception is not necessarily impossible, it is not completely accurate, either. The two main things that differentiate these three groups are their intentions and whether or not they have received permission to complete certain tasks. Black Hat hackers are the ones with poor intentions. The key here is that these hackers were not given permission to break into a system.
Why do they do it, you ask? Another reason might be for the pure thrill of exercising their skills and knowledge in the performance of illegal acts.
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