Hackers Can Be Divided Into Multiple Groups

Hackers can be classified into different categories such as white hat, black hat, and grey hat, based on their intent of hacking a system, but sometimes they are former gray hats(who know both the knowledge of white and black hacker) who have become security professionals and who now use their skills in an ethical manner.

Most people have heard of hackers and malicious users.Many have even suffered the consequences of hackers criminal actions. So who are these people? And why do you need to know about them TechTrick give you the information on these attackers.

Hackers(or external attackers) try to compromise computers and sensitive information for ill-gotten gains — usually from the outside — as unauthorized users. Hackers go for almost any system they think they can compromise.Some prefer prestigious, well-protected systems, but hacking into anyones system increases an attackers status in hacker circles.

Malicious users/work as a Black Hackers (or internal attackers) try to compromise computers and sensitive information from the inside as authorized and "trusted" users. Malicious users go for systems they believe they can compromise for ill-gotten gains or revenge.Malicious attackers are, generally speaking, both hackers and malicious users . For the sake of simplicity, I refer to both as hackers and specify hacker or malicious user only when I need to drill down further into their tools, techniques, and ways of thinking.

Ethical hackers/white hackers (or good guys) hack systems to discover vulnerabilities to protect against unauthorized access, abuse, and misuse. Information security "researchers" typically fall into this category.

Traditionally,hackers like to tinker with software or electronic systems. Hackers enjoy exploring and learning how computer systems operate .They love discovering new ways to work — both mechanically and electronically

In recent years, hacker has taken on a new meaning — someone who maliciously breaks into systems for personal gain. Technically, these criminals are crackers (criminal hackers). Crackers break into, or crack, systems with malicious intent. The personal gain they seek could be fame, profit, and even revenge. They modify, delete, and steal critical information, often making other people miserable.

• White Hats Good guys, ethical hackers
• Black Hats Bad guys, malicious hackers/Crackers
• Gray Hats Good or bad hacker; epends on the situation

White Hats

White hats are the good guys,(mark zuckerberg) the ethical hackers who use their hacking skills for defensive purposes. White-hat hackers are usually security professionals with knowledge of hacking and the hacker toolset and who use this knowledge to locate weaknesses and implement countermeasures.

White-hat hackers are prime candidates for the exam.White hats are those who hack with permission from the data owner. It is critical to get permission prior to beginning any hacking activity.This is what makes a security professional a white hat versus a malicious hacker who cannot be trusted.

The good-guy(white hat) hackers dont like being lumped in the same category as the bad-guy (black hat) hackers. (In case you are curious, the white hat and black hat terms come from old Western TV shows in which the good guys wore white cowboy hats and the bad guys wore black cowboy hats).Gray hat hackers are a little bit of both. Whatever the case, most people have a negative connotation for the word hacker.

Many malicious hackers claim that they dont cause damage but instead help others for the greater good of society. Yeah, right. Malicious hackers are electronic miscreants and deserve the consequences of their actions. However, be careful not to confuse criminal hackers with security researchers.

Black Hats

Black hats are the bad guys (Gary McKinnon) : the malicious hackers or crackers who use their skills for illegal or malicious purposes. They break into or otherwise violate the system integrity of remote systems, with malicious intent. Having gained unauthorized access,black-hat hackers destroy vital data,deny legitimate users service, and just cause problems for their targets.

Black-hat hackers and crackers can easily be differentiated from white-hat hackers because their actions are malicious. This is the traditional definition of a hacker and what most people consider a hacker to be.The issue isnot necessarily users hacking internal systems, but rather users who abuse the computer access privileges they have been given.

Gray Hats

Grey hat hackers are a blend of both black hat and white hat hackers. They act without malicious intent but for their fun, they exploit a security weakness in a computer system or network without the owner’s permission or knowledge.

Gray hats are hackers who may work offensively or defensively, depending on the situation. This is the dividing line between hacker and cracker. Gray-hat hackers may just be interested in hacking tools and technologies and are not malicious black hats. Gray hats are self-proclaimed ethical hackers, who are interested in hacker tools mostly from a curiosity standpoint.

According to this view, it may be one of the highest forms of "hackerly" courtesy to break into a system and then explain to the system operator exactly how it was done and how the hole can be plugged; the hacker is acting as an unpaid—and unsolicited—tiger team (a group that conducts security audits for hire). This approach has gotten many ethical hackers in legal trouble. Make sure you know the law and your legal liabilities when engaging in ethical hacking activity.

The difference between white hats and gray hats is that permission word. Although gray hats might have good intentions, without the correct permission they can no longer be considered ethical. Now that you understand the types of hackers, let’s look at what hackers do. This may seem simple—they hack into computer systems—but sometimes it’s not that simple or nebulous. There is a process that should be followed and information that needs to be documented.

I hope you enjoyed this article.