High profile hacks are on the rise. Companies of all sizes are regularly targeted by different types of hackers to steal sensitive data and disrupt business operations. To protect your organization, you need to be aware of how these hackers operate, and where gaps exist in your cybersecurity.
The 3 Main Types of Hacker “Hats”: White Hat, Gray Hat, and Black Hat
The 3 main types of hackers are often categorized by “hats,” which reflect the level of malice behind their actions.
1. White Hat Hackers
White hat hackers are ethical hackers who use their technical knowledge for defensive purposes, such as helping organizations to identify weaknesses in their cybersecurity systems. They may even be hired by an organization to conduct penetration testing, so that flaws in security can be discovered and corrected before a bad actor finds and exploits them. White hat hackers typically operate within the confines of the law.
2. Gray Hat Hackers
Gray hat hackers may act with less worthy intentions and skirt the bounds of legality, but do not have destructive goals in mind. They may test networks without explicit permission or obtain information from unauthorized sources. The goal of gray hat hackers tends to be curiosity-driven rather than malice. Although they may not intend to inflict damage through their actions, gray hat hackers can still cause problems through accidents or errors.
3. Black Hat Hackers
Black hat hackers are malicious actors with criminal intent. Their actions are illegal and their goals include corporate espionage, blackmail, and fraud. Black hat activities can have devastating consequences for individuals, businesses, and government agencies. Because of the level of sophistication involved in black hat attacks, these individuals are often highly experienced professionals with extensive technical acumen.
What are the Different Types of Hackers?
Beyond the different hats they wear, hackers employ a variety of tactics to achieve their objectives. Here are 4 different types of hackers that small businesses should be aware of.
1. Script Kiddies Hackers
As the name implies, this type of hacker tends to have an amateur level of expertise, and uses programs and solutions created by others as they seek to exploit business vulnerabilities. However, script kiddies can still be dangerous individuals, and they often share the same goals as more sophisticated hackers.
2. Malicious Insider Hackers
Malicious insider threats come in the form of employees at your company who have organization-specific knowledge. By leveraging this knowledge, they can attempt to gain unauthorized access to sensitive information by themselves, or sell their knowledge to an external bad actor.