Hacker: Some Terms of the Trade

The notion that a hacker is this nerdy geek who sits behind his computer for days on end is, although not far off, is pretty much incorrect. The general populous might imagine these almost alien like figures of computing culture to be on a vindictive, vandalistic course of destruction as a result of some sort of troublesome childhood.

Technically this may all be vaguely correct but generally there is very little known about this tech sub-culture that has been around for, well, as long as the computer itself. Generally speaking hackers are the good guys. They are against monopolies, dictatorship and censorship and tend to have a very good sense of what's right and wrong without having any political agendas. But, as with anything good and pure, there are the bad apples.


Below are a few terms that may help the layman to diffuse some of these myths and hopefully to educate the masses, even if only a little bit, about the different types of hacker that is out their in the big bad internet... (The full wiki article is available at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hacker_(computer_security)).


White hat
A white hat hacker breaks security for non-malicious reasons, for instance testing their own security system.The term "white hat" in Internet slang refers to an ethical hacker. This classification also includes individuals who perform penetration tests and vulnerability assessments within a contractual agreement. Often, this type of 'white hat' hacker is called an ethical hacker. The International Council of Electronic Commerce Consultants, also known as the EC-Council has developed certifications, courseware, classes, and online training covering the diverse arena of Ethical Hacking.

Black hat
A Black Hat Hacker is a hacker who "violates computer security for little reason beyond maliciousness or for personal gain"(Moore,2005). Black Hat Hackers are "the epitome of all that the public fears in a computer criminal". Black Hat Hackers break into secure networks to destroy data or make the network unusable for those who are authorized to use the network. The way Black Hat Hackers choose the networks that they are going to break into is by a process that can be broken down into two parts. This is called the pre-hacking stage.

1. Part 1 - Targeting
   
   Targeting is when the hacker determines what network to break into. The target may be of particular interest to the hacker, or the hacker may "Port Scan" a network to determine if it is vulnerable to attacks. A port is defined as "an opening through which the computer receives data via the network". Open ports will allow a hacker to access the system.


2. Part 2 - Research and Information Gathering
   
   It is in this stage that the hacker will visit or contact the target in some way in hopes of finding out vital information that will help them access the system. The main way that hackers get desired results from this stage is from Social Engineering, which will be explained below. Aside from Social Engineering hackers can also use a technique called Dumpster Diving. Dumpster Diving is when a hacker will literally dive into a dumpster in hopes to find documents that users have thrown away, which may contain information a hacker can use directly or indirectly, to help them gain access to a network.
   

Grey hat
A grey hat hacker is a combination of a Black Hat and a White Hat Hacker. A Grey Hat Hacker may surf the internet and hack into a computer system for the sole purpose of notifying the administrator that their system has been hacked, for example. Then they may offer to repair their system for a small fee.

Elite hacker
A social status among hackers, elite is used to describe the most skilled. Newly discovered exploits will circulate among these hackers. Elite groups such as Masters of Deception conferred a kind of credibility on their members.

Script kiddie
A script kiddie (or skiddie) is a non-expert who breaks into computer systems by using pre-packaged automated tools written by others, usually with little understanding of the underlying concept—hence the term script (i.e. a prearranged plan or set of activities) kiddie (i.e. kid, child—an individual lacking knowledge and experience, immature).

Neophyte
A neophyte, "n00b", or "newbie" is someone who is new to hacking or phreaking and has almost no knowledge or experience of the workings of technology, and hacking.

Blue hat
A blue hat hacker is someone outside computer security consulting firms who is used to bug test a system prior to its launch, looking for exploits so they can be closed. Microsoft also uses the term BlueHat to represent a series of security briefing events.

Hacktivist
A hacktivist is a hacker who utilizes technology to announce a social, ideological, religious, or political message. In general, most hacktivism involves website defacement or denial-of-service attacks.

Nation state
Intelligence agencies and cyberwarfare operatives of nation states.

Organized criminal gangs
Criminal activity carried on for profit.

Bots
Automated software tools, some freeware, available for the use of any type of hacker.