Introduction：
2、Hire a white hat hacker for website security.
What Is A Black Hat Hacker？ ♂
What comes to your mind when you think of a hacker? Perhaps a technology geek who overrides every security system to access secure information. However, did you know that there are different types of hackers depending on their intention?
The industry terminology defines hackers based on color, from black hat to white hat and a couple in between. But how does all of it impact business globally?
Data shows that mid-size organizations with 500-999 employees face increasing security threats. But they don’t have enough human or financial resources to deal with the problem. Numbers suggest there is a new cyber attack on the internet every 39 seconds, which makes about 2,244 breaches every day.
On the other side of the table, 36% of hackers believe there is more income in defending against cyber criminals than in becoming one.
In this article, we will understand who black hat hackers are, the other types of hackers, the laws that apply to black hat hackers, and some famous black hat hackers.
Black hat hackers, also known as crackers, break into computer systems with malicious intent to violate laws and the integrity, availability, and confidentiality of data.
To put things in perspective, the WannaCry ransomware infected over 400,000 systems in two weeks in 150 countries. The damage was $120,000 worth of extortion payments. Fortunately, the security specialists released a decryption tool that limited the extortion amount to just 1% of the potential haul.
Most black hat hackers start as novice kids who try their hands at hacking tools they buy on the web. They often engage in hacking to earn extra money. Some develop their skills to become seasoned hackers working with sophisticated organizations that offer hacking services to legitimate businesses. Many black hat hackers specialize in specific areas, such as phishing, remote access, and more.
Imagine an internet user who clicks on an email that is a trojan horse and downloads malware which slows the system down. Precisely at this point, the user gets a call from a service center that offers services to fix the computer. This isn’t a coincidence, but a well-coordinated black hat attack. This type of attack doesn’t rip the customer point blank but creates a situation where the customer pays for a service he didn’t need in the first place.
Different methods a black hat hacker use are –
Black hat hackers are not the only ones out there. Other legitimate ones work for companies on a payroll. Here is the list –
White hat hackers are also called ethical hackers. They are the antidote to malicious hackers. Ethical hackers work as penetration testers who focus on finding vulnerabilities in the system and assessing the risk.
Once they find the potential weak points, they advise the company to fix those. Large organizations that handle sensitive data hire white hat hackers to identify security flaws and enhance their security features.
Other than penetration testing, the ethical hacking skills of a white hat hacker include reconnaissance and research, programming, understanding digital and physical tools, and social engineering.
Gray hat hackers operate by violating ethical principles and standards, but not with malicious intent to steal data or for financial gain. They are in the middle ground between white hat hackers and black hat hackers. While a gray hat hacker discovers the system vulnerabilities and makes them public, a white hat hacker would do so in private.
Green hats are the newbies in the hacking world. They may not be aware of the intricacies and security mechanisms of the web but are keen learners. Green hat hackers look forward to making a mark in the hacking community without the intention of causing harm.
They may be harmful because they often cause harm without intent or knowing the consequences, and do not know how to fix it.
Blue hat hackers may be of two types – those who seek personal revenge and those whom companies hire to test new software and products for vulnerabilities.
If they are seeking revenge, they don’t care about money or fame. They hack to seek revenge on an individual, institution, government agency, or employer. Blue hat hackers use malware to deploy cyber-attacks on their enemies.
Large organizations sometimes hire blue hat hackers and have them work outside of their premises. They test new software to find security vulnerabilities before release. Blue hat hackers also participate in conferences where they find vulnerabilities in software through penetration testing.
Like white hat hackers, red hat hackers also want to save the world. But they adopt extreme and illegal methods to do so. They take the wrong path to achieve the right result. Red hat hackers deploy dangerous cyber-attacks on black hat hackers.
Red hat hackers infect the systems and malware, launch DDoS attacks, and use tools to remotely demolish the computer systems of black hat hackers.
The US federal and state authorities punish black hat hackers under various computer crime offenses and other state and federal laws. The conviction depends on different classes of felonies and misdemeanors and could range from jail time to fines or both.
Some notable laws against black hat hacking are –
The laws prohibit a person from conducting any of the following activities –
The Cybersecurity Enhancement Act and Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act allow agencies to access data stored by an ISP. They don’t need a warrant and may use modified telecom devices for surveillance.
With more businesses going online, black hat hacking is becoming a global problem that is growing in significance and frequency each year. Data breaches have nearly doubled in recent years.
Some black hat hackers intend to install malware on your system to extract trade secrets or hold your data for ransom. Others want to sell your information on the dark web or just cause chaos.
Many hacks do not involve human contact. They are automated and swift. In these cases, attack bots search the internet for vulnerable computers they can infiltrate.
This makes it imperative for businesses to be aware of the best practices in computer and information security. Using good antivirus software, virtual private networks (VPNs), and avoiding suspicious emails are good starting points.
Some of the famous black hat hackers are –
The black hat hacker menace is global. It is difficult for authorities and cybercrime institutions to catch hold of malicious hackers. They use the computer system of unsuspecting users and may have multiple nodes globally. If the authorities catch hold of a hacker in one country, he/she could have nodes in other criminal organizations across the globe.
Simple tactics to deal with black hat hacking methods are –
However, these tactics work well if you are an individual. Large businesses such as credit card companies, banks, e-commerce companies, and others that handle sensitive customer data are constantly bombarded with cyber attacks.
They need the right security professionals and technology to not only defend the system owners but also regularly find and plug in the vulnerabilities. That is where the white hat hackers come in to deal with the bad guys.
If you are considering a career in ethical hacking, a certified cyber security specialist course will help build a rewarding career. This will help you enter the ethical hacking industry and make the process legal.
Hire a white hat hacker for website security. ♂
Hacking is an art form that requires knowledge of computer science, mathematics, engineering, and physics. However, not everybody can do this activity, and not all hackers have malicious intentions. White-hat hackers make a difference for their intent and legality in the processes despite being hackers. Then, if still, you don’t know about the difference between white-hat, grey-hat, and black hackers, this article will teach you. Also, you will learn about ethical hacking, some advice to become a white hat hacker, and how they can help protect a website.
A white-hat hacker is a hired expert for an organization to help the owner through ethical hacking find and fix weaknesses in the system’s security before black hat hackers exploit them.
The term “ethical” means that the hacker has permission from a system or network owner to access it. According to the recent meaned, ethical hacking is not about breaking into systems and stealing data. Therefore, it’s about improving the security of systems through vulnerability detection to educate managers and help maintain a secure digital environment. Generally, an ethical hacker uses hacking skills to identify vulnerabilities before other hackers can easily exploit them. Also, they use their abilities as white-hat hackers for good purposes.
However, there are many different types of ethical hacking, including network penetration testing, social engineering, website scanning, and vulnerability assessment. Ethical hackers do not use any exploits or destructive software to break into systems. They use tools such as scanners, crawlers, and other methods to find vulnerabilities in target systems. Hence, for an organization to be considered ethical hacking compliant, it must have a written policy. Moreover, they should have a system for assigning ethical hacker tasks to those qualified for them.
Becoming a white hat hacker is a time-consuming and challenging process. You must understand how the hacking world works and the intricacies of the systems you will be accessing. Also, it would help if you studied the most common computer languages such as C++, Python, Java, and HTML. Once acquired this knowledge, you will be able to use them with hacking techniques to find vulnerabilities in systems or networks.
Usually, each organization has different education criteria to hire a white-hat hacker. However, a bachelor’s or master’s degree in information security, computer science, or mathematics provides a strong foundation. Instead, those with only a military background, especially intelligence, can also opt for being a white-hat hacker. Military service is also a plus for employers who require or prefer to hire employees that already have a security clearance.
There are many white hat hacking and security-related IT certifications that can help you increase your curriculum. If you have little or no work experience, EC-Council can help you achieve the Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH). The intermediate-level CEH credential focuses on system hacking, enumeration, social engineering, SQL injection, Trojans, worms, viruses, and other forms of attack, including denial of service (DoS).
However, it’s favorable to demonstrate a thorough knowledge of cryptography, penetration testing, firewalls, honeypots, and more. If you don’t have prior work experience, skills like Windows and Linux systems administration, TCP/IP, and working knowledge of virtualization platforms can help you in the course.
According to the constant increase in black hacking, websites are increasingly exposed to threats. However, it is the function of owners must find solutions that ensure their sites’ stability, reliability, and security. IT experts like white hackers are highly qualified to identify how secure a website is. Therefore, determining the system’s risks and discovering ways to exploit them are crucial tests that you must implement.
Through the website security audit, white-hat hackers can scan through the code and identify any security breach. Even they can detect any weaknesses in the website protection. Then, if the hacker finds a way to exploit a risk, there is a vulnerability in the system’s security.
Generally, SIEM solution providers like UTMStack have a SOC team that includes white-hat, blue-hat, and red-hat hackers. They are the team encharged with monitoring and testing the network and systems security. That’s why when companies need to protect their websites, they can hire services like dark web monitoring,
vulnerability assessment, and penetration testing. Once hired, the white-hat hacker will identify and fix vulnerabilities before they become issues.
Hire a white hat will help you to compliant security and privacy regulations like HIPAA, PCI DSS, GDPR, etc. Also, you will receive the right advice to keep computer systems secure.
Ethical hacking is a perfect ability to help companies to keep their assets safe. Hackers white hat use it to detect vulnerabilities in websites and take measures before black hackers exploit them. However, becoming a white hacker requires effort and dedication. Learning about system hacking, social engineering, cyber-attack, methods, tools, and exploiting vulnerabilities is not a matter of a day. Therefore, gets a bachelor’s, master’s degree in the field or an approved CEH credential. In this way, you will become a professional white-hat hacker able to help any company protect its website ethically.
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