The Historical Hackerdom (Week 12)

 NOT ALL HACKERS ARE THE SAME

In key terms, a hacker is defined as a person skilled in information technology who uses their technical knowledge to achieve a goal or overcome an obstacle, within a computerized system by non-standard means. But hackers are more than that, they have a cute personality. All jokes aside, hackers are usually defined by their "hats" which either is a representation of their goals or how experienced they are. Whether it is considered ethical or not, every hacker has their own purpose thereby making it difficult for us to define them under one simple term. So lets look at the "Hats" and give brief explanations on what they mean.

Black Hat:

Black hat hackers are the criminals of the cyber world, they use their knowledge of computing in a bad way whether it is breaking into a system unauthorized, stealing or leaking data, scamming or phishing people or demanding ransoms for the data they collected

White Hat:

Then there is White hat hackers which are the opposite side of the spectrum. They are skilled enough to penetrate into networks and/or systems, bypass security firewalls and find backdoors to systems. The only difference lies in their intentions. White hat hacker's goal is not to damage a system but rather help an organization or group to fix a flaw in their security. They are usually paid by companies to pen-test their systems by purpose therefore making their duty lawful and for the good.

Grey Hat:

This is where the confusion starts for most people because grey hat hackers don’t fall perfectly into either “good” or “bad” categories. They may not have malicious aim like black hat hackers but may still engage in unlawful practices, not at all like white caps. Numerous of them basically enjoy hacking as a hobby and attempt to discover new exploits and vulnerabilities for fun. But the activities they do can be seen as "incorrect" or unethical

Red Hat: 

For all inception fans out there, Red hat hackers are probably the most appealing. Goals wise, they are like the bounty hunters of the cyber world, but they achieve their goals but unlawful practices. They fight back against black hats making them a white hat, but they do not report them to authorities, instead they launch cyber attacks against them making them also a black hat. So its a white hat hacker within a black hat, how lovely. 

Green Hat:

Green hat hackers sometimes referred to as "Lamers" or "Script Kiddies" are hackers who are less experience and lack the professionalism of more experienced cyber criminals. They are eager to learn and improve themselves, however they are often traced and caught easily because they leave a lot of digital footprint when trying to cause harm. In short, you can call them future wannabe black hats.

Blue Hat:

Blue hat hackers are basically green hats with an attitude. they often get involve in cyber practices for seeking revenge or to "show off" their skills, they are often beginners who do not utilize major exploits nor they have the experience to do so.