8 Types of Hackers Around The Globe
If you think you know everything about hackers from a Hollywood movie, think again. Hackers are not someone who just sit in front of computers, striking keys at the speed of light. And they don’t wear hoodies! This article will list all the major types of hackers that exist in the digital world. They are categorized on the basis of their purposes, ways, and skills. Keep reading till the end to know more about these exciting professionals. P.S. They are not all professionals. Some of them just do it for fun!
Black hat hackers:
Black hat hackers are those who breach into systems and networks for criminal purposes. They are usually motivated by financial and malicious gains. These are the ones that contribute to cybercrime in a large number. A black hat hacker could be motivated by money, vengeance, warfare, sexual pleasures, blackmail, competition, etc.
White hat hackers:
White hat hackers are those who also breach into systems and networks but they do it legally and with a helpful intention of enhancing the target’s security. Also known as ethical hackers or penetration testers, these professionals use similar ways like criminal hackers to attempt a transgression and report back with vulnerabilities and suggestions on how to fix them. White hat hackers usually need to be certified (with a Certified Ethical Hacking or equivalent certification) because they are widely employed in firms for their services.
Grey hat hackers:
Grey hat hackers are a blend of both. They don’t take permission like white hat hackers do, before breaching into systems. But they also don’t have malicious intentions like black hat hackers. Grey hat hackers usually just hunt for bugs in software and report to their owners with the vulnerabilities. Although, grey hat hackers can also turn black hats if they use their skills for malicious gains. It totally depends on each individual person.
Hacktivists:
They are the hackers who neither do it for malicious nor security purposes. Hacktivists hack a system or network for political causes. The group Anonymous is a famous hacktivist group. Many other hacktivists use their programming skills to bring political and social change in the world.
Green hat hackers:
Green hat hackers are those who have little to no knowledge about hacking. They earnestly want to become hackers and learn techniques, but they lack the skills for it. They are also known as neophytes or noobs.
Red hat hackers:
Red hat hackers also act like white hat hackers. Their job is to beat black hat hackers. However, their approach is highly different than white hats. As opposed to handing over the black hats to authorities, red hats will attack them and try to disarm them by launching hostile attacks on them.
Script kiddies:
As you can guess from their name, these are those individuals who hardly possess any technical know-how to launch an attack. Unlike ethical hackers who undergo rigorous ethical hacking training, script kiddies just find their way into guarded systems through backdoors or scripts written by other hackers.
Blue hat hackers:
Blue hat hackers are those who are hired to make sure that there are no bugs in software that is yet to be released. They ensure that the technology is safe before it is launched for use. Their name is said to be originated from the blue color of the Microsoft employee badges.
That ends our long list of hackers. Hope you learned something of value. If you are also interested in hacking, make sure you do more research about the various aspects of it like its uses, methods, purposes, benefits, etc. And always remember to use your skills (whatever they may be) to make the world better.
