In the early days of the internet, hackers hacked websites or took down services just to show they could break a system. So, you could say it was more about their ego or showing off or sometimes just to make a point that something can be broken. These days, it's way more complicated and so are the intentions behind such activities. Before deep-diving into the reasons which motivate hackers to hack, let us know more about the 3 common categories of hackers and some of the common hacking techniques they use.
What are the Most Common Hack? What can be done to be safe? Black hat hackers are notoriously known to infiltrate into networks and systems by creating and spreading malware. They are generally motivated by monetary gains but on many occasions, they just do it for fun also.
From amateurs to expert cybercriminals, anyone can be a black hat hacker as long as they are hacking with the motive of spreading malware and stealing personal data. Not all hackers are bad, some are white hat hackers also. They implement commonly known cybersecurity techniques like penetration testing and thorough vulnerability assessments to ensure that the security systems are in place.
These hackers have characteristics from both black and white hat hackers, but they generally carry out their hacking missions without seeking permissions from anyone.
Mostly they do report the vulnerabilities found to the concerned parties, but they also demand compensations in return.
If not rewarded properly, they might exploit the vulnerabilities as well. Credit: raconteur. I am sure you guessed this.
One of the most common reasons for hackers to hack is to steal or leak information. This could be data and information about your customers, your internal employees or even private data specific to your business.
These are cases where hackers typically go after big targets in order to get the most attention. Some of the biggest examples are the Ashley Madison hack or the Starbucks app hack.
In the Ashley Madison hack, hackers were able to break into the customer database and get access to all the information including many private pictures of popular celebrities. This incident was a big shakeup in the Internet world which also affected private lives of many people. A lot of times, hackers also steal information in order to assume your personal identity and then use it for something else like transferring money, taking a loan, etc.
Such incidents have increased after Internet banking and mobile banking have started to become more popular. With the growth of smartphones and mobile devices, the potential for monetary gain through hacking has also increased. Mobile phone hackers use a variety of methods to access an individual's mobile phone and intercept voicemails, phone calls, text messages, and even the phone's microphone and camera, all without that user's permission or even knowledge.
Compared to iPhones, Android phones are much more fractured, whose open-source nature and inconsistencies in standards in terms of software development put the Androids at a greater risk of data corruption and data theft. And any number of bad things result from Android hacking.
Cybercriminals could view your stored data on the phone, including identity and financial information. Likewise, hackers can track your location, force your phone to text premium websites, or even spread their hack with an embedded malicious link to others among your contacts, who will click on it because it appears to come from you.
Of course, legitimate law enforcement might hack phones with a warrant to store copies of texts and emails, transcribe private conversations, or follow the suspect's movements. But black hat hackers could definitely do harm by accessing your bank account credentials, deleting data, or adding a host of malicious programs.
Phone hackers have the advantage of many computer hacking techniques, which are easy to adapt to Androids. Phishing , the crime of targeting individuals or members of entire organizations to lure them into revealing sensitive information through social engineering, is a tried and true method for criminals.
In fact, because a phone displays a much smaller address bar compared to a PC, phishing on a mobile Internet browser probably makes it easier to counterfeit a seemingly trusted website without revealing the subtle tells such as intentional misspellings that you can see on a desktop browser. So you get a note from your bank asking you to log on to resolve an urgent problem, click on the conveniently provided link, enter your credentials in the form, and the hackers have you. Trojanized apps downloaded from unsecured marketplaces are another crossover hacker threat to Androids.
Major Android app stores Google and Amazon keep careful watch on the third-party apps; but embedded malware can get through either occasionally from the trusted sites, or more often from the sketchier ones.
This is the way your phone ends up hosting adware , spyware , ransomware , or any other number of malware nasties. Other methods are even more sophisticated and don't require manipulating the user into clicking on a bad link. Bluehacking gains access to your phone when it shows up on an unprotected Bluetooth network.
It's even possible to mimic a trusted network or cell phone tower to re-route text messages or log-on sessions. And if you leave your unlocked phone unattended in a public space, instead of just stealing it, a hacker can clone it by copying the SIM card, which is like handing over the keys to your castle.
Lest you think that hacking is only a Windows problem, Mac users, be assured—you are not immune. In , Apple publicly confirmed that yes, Macs get malware. Previous to that admission, in there was a phishing campaign targeting Mac users , mostly in Europe. Conveyed by a Trojan that was signed with a valid Apple developer certificate, the hack phished for credentials by throwing up a full-screen alert claiming that there's an essential OS X update waiting to be installed. If the hack succeeded, the attackers gained complete access to all of the victim's communication, allowing them to eavesdrop on all web browsing, even if it's an HTTPS connection with the lock icon.
In addition to social engineering hacks on Macs, the occasional hardware flaw can also create vulnerabilities, as was the case with the so-called Meltdown and Spectre flaws that The Guardian reported in early Apple responded by developing protections against the flaw, but advised customers to download software only from trusted sources such as its iOS and Mac App Stores to help prevent hackers from being able to use the processor vulnerabilities.
And then there was the insidious Calisto , a variant of the Proton Mac malware that operated in the wild for two years before being discovered in July It was buried in a fake Mac cybersecurity installer, and, among other functions, collected usernames and passwords. From viruses to malware to security flaws, hackers have created an extensive toolkit to wreak hacker havoc on your Mac.
So who are at risk for such attacks? The truth is, practically anyone connecting to the Internet is vulnerable to being hacked, infiltrated by a Trojan horse or attacked by a virus or worm. Thus, there is a need to be proactive when it comes to protecting your system from such attacks. These methods are discussed here. Log in Contact Sales. Deploy C. Monitor Your Website. Reduces billions of events into prioritized threats real-time.
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