Note: What are hackers? Let’s jump into it!
When you think of hackers, most people think of malicious people behind a computer screen with masks on. Perhaps you also imagine a black screen with green ones-and-zeros moving around the screen as they type away in their dark and mysterious room.
Our portrayal of hackers has remained the consistent throughout the years, but as time has passed, the word “hacker” has developed more and more layers! There are lots of types of hackers found on the Internet, and even some type of hackers you may not know about.
In today’s mini-lesson, I talk about the different types of hackers and what they do. Today’s world is filled with ethical hackers (white hat hackers), unethical hackers (black hat hackers), and a combination of them, better known as grey hat hackers.
Ethical hackers, better known as white hat hackers, are hackers who ask for permission to hack into computers, networks, and applications. In many cases, companies and organizations hire white hat hackers to fix and point out vulnerabilities in their systems before the black hat hackers get to them. White hat hackers use similar tools and skills to black hat hackers. There have been many cases of black-hat hackers turning the page and becoming white hat hackers by using their impressive skills but for good.
Unethical hackers, better known as black hat hackers, are hackers who do not ask for permission to hack into computers, networks, and applications. Black hat hackers are cyber criminals who do malicious actions and gain unauthorized access to systems. Lots of black hat hackers use their knowledge in coding and malware creation to gain access to other people’s devices through viruses or other malware. In many cases though, black hat hackers do not use malware to gain access, many black hat hackers use social engineering, such as phising to gain other people’s passwords, logins, and sensitive personal information. They can do this through text messaging, calling users, and emailing them while pretending to be a real company.
While not mentioned in the video, grey hat hackers also exist! Grey hat hackers are a combination of both ethical and unethical hackers. Hackers who fall into this category use their impressive skills to help a company/organization, but grey hat hackers do not ask for permission.
That’s all about hackers!