what is hacking?
The term 'hacking' and 'hacker' have various interpretations according to various sources. In an ideal sense, the term hacker was used to define a person who was very skilled in the art of computer programming knowledge. This was a person who would use his programming knowledge to solve complex computer problems.
this act of exploiting the bugs and weaknesses of various computer systems is termed 'hacking'. As you might have guessed, if you are gaining access to a system without the authorization of the owner of that system, it is illegal no matter where you are.
There, in the common eyes of people who are unaware of the different types of hacking, the term is seen in a very negative manner and is always assumed to be illegal.
why do hackers hack?
If you have heard about the hacking incidents. which are mostly related to money and that are commonly heard in newspapers that hackers hacked the bank accounts and robbed the money from others accounts by hacking the account. but not only the money is related to do hacking mostly and the important data which is very complicated to secure in that time hackers target the data to take out from the other systems without any authorization of the system owner.
As you might already know the major reason for hacking is generally money. However, there are other reasons present which can be a quiet improvement as well. In general, the major reason reasons for which hacker's hack include the following :
let's talk about the types of reasons and profits of the hackers which can prove that why hackers hack actually.
1) PROFIT :
This is one of the most prominent reasons why hackers hack. The hacking might profit them in one way or another.
some of the hackers who work for their profit might not fall in the illegal zone. For example, a hacker might be on the payroll of an IT company to exploit the weaknesses in their own systems. hackers get paid very well through opportunities like these . however, it doesn't mean that they would be doing anything unethical.
However, there are many hackers who focus on personal profits so much that they do not mind resorting to illegal methods for that ; for example hacking someone without authorization to retrieve personal information about the user , which can help the hacker is stealing the funds of the user . this is quite unethical and frowned upon . needles to say something like this can get the hacker behind the bars.
2) Accessing data :
Accessing data someone's private data is another purpose of hacking. hackers access the systems without authorization to find files and data in that system and use them for their own motives.
These files may be used for purposes such as pirating or for the personal knowledge of the hacker alone. some hackers tend to make profits by selling this data to other customers interested in it.
3) PASSION :
some hackers simply operate out of a passion for technical knowledge. they have a deep love of computer science and networks and find it amusing to perform activities such as these.
If done out of passion a hacker can also find reputable jobs in the IT industry and earn a living doing it. however, even if a hacker is hacking out of passion, hacking into a system without the authorization of the owner is still considered illegal.
5 POLITICAL AND RELIGIOUS VIEWS :
hackers also operate on the payroll of various governments, trying to access information and data vital to that country's government. this type of hacking, although it is not punishable by the governable, it has still been frowned upon at a global level.
Even if not employed by a government, sometimes hackers operate due to their own political or nationalist sentiments. various hackers find hacking a good way ( a good way for themselves ) to spread their religious propaganda. they accomplish this by targeting the website that speaks against their religion or sometimes they keep spreading their words through popular websites with weak security.
you should realize that even if you are spreading a positive message through hacking and you do not have the permission of the owners of the computer system, it is still considered illegal and will put you behind bars in jail.
DO U KNOW?
once upon a time a Hackers team Anonymous. they hacked DONALD TRUMP'S website after his announcement that "all Muslims must leave his country", and warned TRUMP that "think before speaking". like this hackers also react regarding this religious matters, even a person or president they won't see any levels of a person they just warn him or try to bully them in any cases either it is religious or political issues and either it is negative or positive. some hackers do this for someone's justice or for a particular religion or a particular country to save them from the political religion's partiality problems or war against the wars.
5) VANDALISM :
some hackers practice hacking to break down websites or slow down the network. such activities include DDOS attacks or putting down servers thereby affecting the normal functioning of websites or the internet. this type of hacking is highly illegal as well and can get you a long jail sentence as well.
6) SECURITY :
Hacking is also done to improve the security of systems. In such types of hacking, the hackers have the permission of the owner of the system, be it a company or an individual owner. the hacker exploits bugs and vulnerabilities in the system and works to remove them, thereby improving the security of the system.
Some companies like google even host competitions where hackers find ways to breach their system or products and if they can do so or find bugs in the system, they are given prizes by the company.
Types of hackers and hackings
Now we all know that Hackers are not only hack for money mostly they are different types of hackers are there.
The various types of hacking are :
1)WHITE HAT HACKING :
This type of hacking is also called ethical hacking. As the name suggests this type of hacking is completely legal and done with the constant of the owner of the system. In white hat hacking, the hackers aim to fix the weakness of the system by finding the bugs and vulnerabilities in the system.
These hackers might be on the payroll of the company or be participating in some competition employed by the company.
2) BLACK HAT HACKING :
This type of hacking is also known as cracking. As the name suggests, this type of hacking happens when the hacker cracks into a system without the permission or authorization of the owner.
It is a highly illegal activity. the intention of such hackers might be to steal the important data of the system, infringement of private rights of the user, using the bank information on the system to transfer money for personal gains, etc.
3) GREY HAT HACKING :
This type of hacking is in between white hat hacking and black hat hacking. In this hacking, the hacker gains access to the system without the permission of the owner. However, all the weaknesses that are found by the hacker are reported to the owner by the hacker so the owner can improve his systems.
Through these are the major types of hacking, there are other minor sub-branches as well that you might want to know about.
4) SCRIPT KIDDIES :
Script kiddies are people who do not have deep knowledge of computer systems and networks like most hackers do. However, they tend to use the already made programs and scripts to gain access to systems or do unauthorized activities in computers and networks. Even though they did not create the programs, using them without authorization for hacking activities can still land them behind bars.
5) HACKTIVISTS :
Made by combining the term 'hacker' and 'activists', Hacktivists are the people who turn to hack to propagate the social or political message. This is commonly done by gaining access to websites and altering their content, either putting something that propagates their agenda or removing something that voices against it.
6) PHREAKER :
Though not exactly about computer systems, phreaking is still considered a type of hacking. phreakers are people who exploit the bugs and vulnerabilities in the telephone lines and take advantage of that. This act is called phreaking.
conclusion of this post
Finally, we came to know that white hat hackers are the most believable and respected hackers in the technical community and so many MNC (multinational companies) are invited to work in their companies to set up secure data from their servers and important data and the Important thing is white hat hackers mostly protect the data from other hackers who are trying to hack their company servers or theft the data.
These white hat hackers are coming from the ethical hacking field. Actually, ethical hacking is a fully legal hacking that is used to do for securing data from any websites, mobiles, and many companies. the companies pay well for their work and that is earning source of ethical hackers.
if you want to know about ethical hacking that what is ethical hacking and how ethical hackers work and what is important you must know to become an ethical hacker. in the next blog, we are making the blog on white hat hackers(ethical hacking) and full detailed information about them given full information in our TECH STRAP blogs and stay tuned.
thanks, for reading........