Hacker is the person who engages in hacking. Hacking is the act of unauthorised intrusion into a computer or network, thereby leading to a compromise of digital devices or even the network as a whole. The concept of hackers is more than mere programmers who are talented and often self-taught and seek to gain by disrupting systems. Hacking, therefore, is an umbrella term. It encompasses a lot of activities under it, among which most are cyber-related. Malware and malicious cyber-attacks on computing public, enterprises, and governments are one of the most common forms of hacking. Although, ironically after the release of the 1982 American sci-fi film Tron, a gang of teenage hackers broke into computer systems throughout US or Canada. Thereby setting the earliest record of hacking. To know more about cyber-attacks check here: Data Breach & Cyber Attacks in 2018
The word hacker is a broad term. Fixing it to a definite section of people are restricting it. There are various types of hackers.
It is difficult to pinpoint the real reason behind the hacking. Therefore, based on their reasons behind hacking, it is possible to categorise them. Therefore the following types are:
As the reason behind the act of hacking varies, it gives rise to 2 types of hackers. The good ones or popularly known as ‘white hat hackers’ and the opposite section, commonly known as ‘black hat’. While the white hats help to improve the security of an organisation by finding vulnerabilities and fixing them, on the other hand, the black hats do the opposite. Stealing something valuable for any malicious action is the main aim of black hats.
In between these, there is a third type of hacker or grey hats. These are those hackers who use their skills to break into systems or networks without authorisation. But unlike black hats, these hackers, they usually report the vulnerability to the owner and offers to repair the same for a small fee.
Unsurprisingly, China the most populous country in the world has the largest number of hackers in the world. Various estimates state that 41% of the world’s cyber-attacks have their origin in China. Rumours also go that, the hacking network in China has national backing.
In the second position, the USA accounts for approx. 10% of the world’s attack traffic. One of the many infamous groups from here is Anonymous.
Next to the USA is Turkey. It has a share of around 4.7% in global cyber-attack traffic. However recent years show a rapid increase in their activities.
The recent news of Russia meddling in the US elections have brought public attention to this country. Although only about 4.3% of global attack traffic generates from Russia, still it is capable of a lot more. In fact, they are able to target some of the most secure networks in the world.
In spite of the small size of the nation, Taiwan accents for more than 3.7 per cent of the world’s hacking traffic. Likewise, this small island is known as a hub for hackers.
There are many groups of hackers all around the world. Some of the famous or infamous ones are as follows.
Considered as one of the most organised hacking groups Anonymous has proved its capability through its actions. Starting in 2003, this group claims itself as a liberal group trying to protect the freedom of the Internet. The recent focus of this group is the terrorist organisation ISIS.
Hacking Sony Picture’s Database in 2011 made this group famous. However, the first attack of this group was on Fox Website where it took down the Website and also changed the LinkedIn credentials of several employees alongside. Although in 2011 the group was subsequently arrested but soon after their release they got back to hacking.
The famous attacks of this group include an attack on Malaysia Airlines, DDOS attack on Facebook, Sony, Microsoft and many other. Thereafter, following their rising activities, many arrests were made in England & US.
Originating during the Syrian crisis, this group is famous for hacking political organisations and news of the western nations. Website defacement, cyber espionage and spamming are some of its works. In addition to this, the group claims itself to support the Syrian president Bashar-al-Assad.
This club originated in 1981 in Hamburg. This is the oldest and most respected group in the hacker community. It is because they believe in ethical hacking and follows a code of conduct. The most famous incident of this group was when they returned the money the day after hacking a German bank.
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