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A black hat hacker is someone who subverts computer security without authorization or uses technology (usually a computer or the Internet) for vandalism (malicious destruction), credit card fraud, identity theft, intellectual property theft, or other types of crime.
A black hat hacker is someone who subverts computer security without authorization or uses technology (usually a computer or the Internet) for vandalism (malicious destruction), credit card fraud, identity theft, intellectual property theft, or other types of crime.
They are more correctly known as "crackers".


=== Script kiddie ===
=== Script kiddie ===

Revision as of 06:10, 5 June 2009

This article is about computer security hackers. For other types of computer hackers, see Hacker (computing). For other uses, see Hacker.
Part of a series on
Computer hacking
History
Hacker culture and ethic
Conferences
Computer crime
Hacking tools
Practice sites
Malware
Computer security
Groups
Publications

In common usage, a hacker is a person who breaks into computers.[1] The subculture that has evolved around hackers is often referred to as the computer underground. Proponents claim to be motivated by artistic and political ends, and are often unconcerned about the use of criminal means to achieve them.[2]

Other uses of the word hacker exist that are not related to computer security (computer programmer and home computer hobbyists), but these are rarely used by the mainstream media.

History

Main article: Timeline of hacker history

Hacking developed alongside "Phone Phreaking", a term referred to exploration of the phone network without authorization, and there has often been overlap between both technology and participants.

Bruce Sterling traces the roots of the computer underground to the Yippies, a 1960s counterculture movement which published the Technological Assistance Program newsletter.

Artifacts and customs

The computer underground[1] is heavily dependent on technology. It has produced its own slang and various forms of unusual alphabet use, for example 1337speak. Writing programs and performing other activities to support these views is referred to as hacktivism. Some go as far as seeing illegal cracking ethically justified for this goal; the most common form is website defacement.[citation needed] The computer underground is frequently compared to the Wild West: a male-dominated Frontier to conquer.[3] It is common among hackers to use aliases for the purpose of concealing identity, rather than revealing their real names.

Hacker groups

Main articles: Hacker conference and Hacker group

The computer underground is supported by regular real-world gatherings called hacker conventions or "hacker cons". These have drawn more people every year including SummerCon (Summer), DEF CON, HoHoCon (Christmas), and H.O.P.E..[citation needed] They have helped expand the definition and solidify the importance of the computer underground.[citation needed]

Hacking and the media

Hacker magazines

Main category: Hacker magazines

The most notable hacker-oriented magazine publications are Phrack and 2600: The Hacker Quarterly. While the information contained in hacker magazines and ezines was often outdated, they improved the reputations of those who contributed by documenting their successes.[4]

Hackers in fiction

Hackers often show an interest in fictional cyberpunk and cyberculture literature and movies. Absorption of fictional pseudonyms, symbols, values, and metaphors from these fictional works is very common.[citation needed]

Books portraying hackers:

Films also portray hackers:

Non-fiction books

Hacker attitudes

Several subgroups of the computer underground with different attitudes and aims use different terms to demarcate themselves from each other, or try to exclude some specific group with which they do not agree. Eric S. Raymond advocates that members of the computer underground should be called crackers. Yet, those people see themselves as hackers and even try to include the views of Raymond in what they see as one wider hacker culture, a view harshly rejected by Raymond himself. Instead of a hacker – cracker dichotomy, they give more emphasis to a spectrum of different categories, such as white hat (ethical hacking), grey hat, black hat and script kiddie. In contrast to Raymond, they usually reserve the term cracker to refer to black hat hackers, or more generally hackers with unlawful intentions.

White hat

Main article: White hat

A white hat hacker breaks security for non-malicious reasons, for instance testing their own security system. This type of hacker enjoys learning and working with computer systems, and consequently gains a deeper understanding of the subject. Such people normally go on to use their hacking skills in legitimate ways, such as becoming security consultants. The word 'hacker' was originally used to describe people such as these.

Grey hat

Main article: Grey hat

A grey hat hacker is a hacker of ambiguous ethics and/or borderline legality, often frankly admitted.

Black hat

Main article: Black hat

A black hat hacker is someone who subverts computer security without authorization or uses technology (usually a computer or the Internet) for vandalism (malicious destruction), credit card fraud, identity theft, intellectual property theft, or other types of crime.

Script kiddie

Main article: Script kiddie

A script kiddie is a non-expert who breaks into computer systems by using pre-packaged automated tools written by others. These are the outcasts of the hacker community. Also referred to as a Skiddiot.

Hacktivist

Main article: Hacktivism

A hacktivist is a hacker who utilizes technology to announce a social, ideological, religious, or political message. In general, most hactivism involves website defacement or denial-of-service attacks. In more extreme cases, hactivism is used as tool for Cyberterrorism.

Common methods

Main article: Computer insecurity


A typical approach in an attack on Internet-connected system is:

  1. Network enumeration: Discovering information about the intended target.
  2. Vulnerability analysis: Identifying potential ways of attack.
  3. Exploitation: Attempting to compromise the system by employing the vulnerabilities found through the vulnerability analysis. [6]

In order to do so, there are several recurring tools of the trade and techniques used by computer criminals and security experts.

Security exploit

Main article: Exploit (computer security)

A security exploit is a prepared application that takes advantage of a known weakness.

Vulnerability scanner

Main article: Vulnerability scanner

A vulnerability scanner is a tool used to quickly check computers on a network for known weaknesses. Hackers also commonly use port scanners. These check to see which ports on a specified computer are "open" or available to access the computer, and sometimes will detect what program or service is listening on that port, and its version number. (Note that firewalls defend computers from intruders by limiting access to ports/machines both inbound and outbound, but can still be circumvented.)

Packet sniffer

Main article: Packet sniffer

A packet sniffer is an application that captures data packets, which can be used to capture passwords and other data in transit over the network.

Spoofing attack

Main article: Spoofing attack

A spoofing attack involves one program, system, or website successfully masquerading as another by falsifying data and thereby being treated as a trusted system by a user or another program. The purpose of this is usually to fool programs, systems, or users into revealing confidential information, such as user names and passwords, to the attacker.

Rootkit

Main article: Rootkit

A rootkit is designed to conceal the compromise of a computer's security, and can represent any of a set of programs which work to subvert control of an operating system from its legitimate operators. Usually, a rootkit will obscure its installation and attempt to prevent its removal through a subversion of standard system security. Rootkits may include replacements for system binaries so that it becomes impossible for the legitimate user to detect the presence of the intruder on the system by looking at process tables.

Social engineering

Main article: Social engineering (computer security)

Social Engineering is the art of getting persons to reveal sensitive information about a system. This is usually done by impersonating someone or by convincing people to believe you have permissions to obtain such information.

Trojan horse

Main article: Trojan horse (computing)

A Trojan horse is a program which seems to be doing one thing, but is actually doing another. A trojan horse can be used to set up a back door in a computer system such that the intruder can gain access later. (The name refers to the horse from the Trojan War, with conceptually similar function of deceiving defenders into bringing an intruder inside.)

Virus

Main article: Computer virus

A virus is a self-replicating program that spreads by inserting copies of itself into other executable code or documents. Thus, a computer virus behaves in a way similar to a biological virus, which spreads by inserting itself into living cells.

Worm

Main article: Computer worm

Like a virus, a worm is also a self-replicating program. A worm differs from a virus in that it propagates through computer networks without user intervention. Unlike a virus, it does not need to attach itself to an existing program. Many people conflate the terms "virus" and "worm", using them both to describe any self-propagating program.

Key loggers

Main article: Keystroke logging

A keylogger is a tool designed to record ('log') every keystroke on an affected machine for later retrieval. Its purpose is usually to allow the user of this tool to gain access to confidential information typed on the affected machine, such as a user's password or other private data. Often uses virus-, trojan-, and rootkit-like methods to remain active and hidden.

Notable intruders and criminal hackers

Main article: List of convicted computer criminals

Notable Security Hackers

Kevin Mitnick

Main article: Kevin Mitnick

Kevin Mitnick is a computer security consultant and author, formerly the most wanted computer criminal in United States history.

Eric Corley

Main article: Eric Gorden Corley

Eric Corley (also known as Emmanuel Goldstein) is the long standing publisher of 2600: The Hacker Quarterly. He is also the founder of the H.O.P.E. conferences. He has been part of the hacker community since the late '70s.

Fyodor

Main article: Gordon Lyon

Gordon Lyon, known by the handle Fyodor, authored the Nmap Security Scanner as well as many network security books and web sites. He is a founding member of the Honeynet Project and Vice President of Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility.

Solar Designer

Main article: Solar Designer

Solar Designer is the pseudonym of the founder of the Openwall Project.

Michał Zalewski

Main article: Michal Zalewski

Michał Zalewski (lcamtuf) is a prominent security researcher.

Gary McKinnon

Main article: Gary McKinnon

Gary McKinnon is a Scottish hacker facing extradition to the United States to face charges of perpetrating what has been described as the "biggest military computer hack of all time."[7]

References

Taylor, 1999
Taylor, Paul A. (1999). Hackers. Routledge. ISBN 9780415180726.
  1. ^ a b Sterling, Bruce. "Part 2(d)". The Hacker Crackdown. McLean, Virginia: IndyPublish.com. p. 61. ISBN 1-4043-0641-2.
  2. ^ Blomquist, Brian (May 29, 1999). "FBI's Web Site Socked as Hackers Target Feds". New York Post. Retrieved on October 21, 2008.
  3. ^ Tim Jordan, Paul A. Taylor (2004). Hacktivism and Cyberwars. Routledge. pp. 133–134. ISBN 9780415260039. Wild West imagery has permeated discussions of cybercultures.
  4. ^ Thomas, Douglas. Hacker Culture. University of Minnesota Press. p. 90. ISBN 9780816633463.
  5. ^ Staples, Brent (May 11 2003). "A Prince of Cyberpunk Fiction Moves Into the Mainstream". Retrieved 2008-08-30. Mr. Gibson's novels and short stories are worshiped by hackers {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  6. ^ Hacking approach
  7. ^ Boyd, Clark (30 July 2008). "Profile: Gary McKinnon". BBC News. Retrieved 2008-11-15.

See also

Wikibooks has a book on the topic of: Hacking
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