There are various types of computer hackers that all have different malicious intent. It's important to know these different types of hackers so you can properly defend your data.
The term hacker is a generic term to describe attackers. Not all have intent to steal your data. Below is a list of various types of hackers.
White Hat
White hat has the skills to break into computer systems and do damage. However, they use their skills to help organizations. For example a white hat might work for an organization to test for security weaknesses and vulnerabilities in the network.
Black Hat
Black Hat also known as a cracker uses his skills to break into computer systems for unethical reasons. For example, steal user data like, username and password, credit card numbers, bank information.
Grey Hat
This type can be thought of as a white hat attacker who sometimes acts unethically. They could be employed as a legit network security administrator. But, during this person's duties, he may find an opportunity for gaining access to company data and stealing that data.
Phreaker
A phreaker is simply a hacker of telecommunications. An example of this is tricking the phone system into letting you make free long distance calls.
Script Kiddy
A Script Kiddy is someone who lacks the skills of a typical hacker. They rely on downloading hacking programs or utilities sometimes calls scripts to perform an attack.
Hacktivist
This is a person with political motivations, such as someone defacing a website and leaving messages on the hacked site for the world to see.
Computer Security Hacker
This is someone who knows the technical aspects of computer networking and security. This person could attack a network protected by a firewall or IPS by fragmenting packets.
Academic Hacker
This type is typically an employee or student at an institution of higher education. They would use the institutions computing resources to write malicious programs.
Hobby Hacker
This is someone that tends to focus more on home computing. Such as, modifying existing hardware or software, use software without a license, unlock Apple iPhone.
Matt has been practicing computer security for over 5 years now. You can check out his latest website Active Directory Tools which provides a list of useful tools for Network Administrators.
