Different Types of Hackers Explained

Hackers – the good the bad and the ugly!

Hollywood mostly portrays hackers as the cool kids – able to access security systems and help the projected star of the movie win the day! However, this can be far from the truth. As many Small to Medium business owners who have been hacked can vouch, this can be a painful, expensive, and frustrating experience.

When you consider today, everything from your phone to your crypto wallet to your smart fridge can be hacked. It’s a troubling area that continues to grow. But are all hackers dangerous?

There’s a wide spectrum of hackers — from those who help to criminals who try to maim your business and steal confidential data. So which hackers should you be most concerned with? In this guide, we’ll explain some different types.

White hat, black hat, green hat, blue hat — (sounds little bit like a Dr. Seuss book but the names are all true) these are just a few types of hackers loitering online and putting your personal data and devices at risk.

The 10 Types of Hackers You Need To be Aware of in 2023

White Hat hackers: The “good guys”

White hat hackers also known as “ethical hackers.” Have all the skill and proficiency of the bad guys (black hat hackers) but are legally authorized to “hack” systems. Their motto? Protect and prevent.

White hats test for security weaknesses and vulnerabilities in IT systems before immoral black hats have a chance to exploit them. White hats then develop patches for the loopholes they’ve identified. So, their proactive hacking keeps black hats out, or lessens the damage black hats may cause.
Government agencies, information security teams, and companies like Google, Facebook, and Uber hire white hats to use the force for good. They even reward them with “bug bounties” when they find critical bugs in the system.

Black Hat hackers: The very “bad guys”

Black hat hackers are what most people think of when they hear the word “hacker” or “cybercriminal.” Black hat hackers are dangerous, highly skilled, and motivated by personal and financial gain. They hack with mischievous intent, and they leverage their knowledge of programming languages, network architecture, and networking protocols. Black hats illegally break into networks to compromise or halt entire operations. They hack accounts to swipe, modify, or destroy sensitive data. For cybersecurity experts, black hat hackers are the bad guys.

Grey Hat hackers: Mostly good, but hybrid of good and bad

Grey hat hackers Although their motives are usually good, they still engage in technically illegal hacks like black hats do.
For example, let’s say a grey hat sees that their insurance company has just updated its app. They may intentionally (illegally) hack into the system to find potential vulnerabilities. Rather than cause destruction, grey hat hackers notify system administrators about these weaknesses so that they can be patched and improved before a black hat takes advantage.

Red Hat hackers: Hunt black hats

As white hats attempt to combat black hat hackers, red hats look for them. They pursue black hat hackers and attack them using equally aggressive tools and illegal techniques. The idea is to stop the black hat. The irony here is they use just as powerful and often illegal tools to do so. Some may even gain remote access to the black hat’s system to destroy their machines, computer networks, and more — from the inside out. Many red hats operate as solo vigilantes. Others are hired by government agencies, high-profile companies, social media platforms, and other organizations that have black hats on their backs.

Elite hackers: Innovators and influencers

Extremely skilled elite hackers sit at the top of the cybercriminal pyramid. They create new hacking techniques to bypass current security systems. And they’re often responsible for the latest malware and advanced attacks. Elite hackers sometimes sell their hacking packages on the Dark Web so that others can deploy their malicious creations with little to no effort.

Script kiddies: Often attention seekers

Script kiddies have no intention of learning how to be real hackers. Lacking the skills to hack systems themselves, they buy existing malware kits and predefined scripts created by real hackers (often Elite hackers) on the dark web. Often script kiddies are looking to make headlines in media outlets and online forums, being rewarded with the attention and notoriety they seek.

Hacktivists: Activists who hack

Hacktivists consider their “ethical hacking” a form of protest. Anonymous, the most famous hacktivist group, recently declared a “cyber war” on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.

State or nation-sponsored hackers

State and nation-sponsored hackers work for government agencies. They gain access to other nations’ systems to monitor for cyber threats or steal confidential information. Though illegal, their actions are sanctioned by governments.

Cryptojackers: Cryptomining in the shadows

Mining cryptocurrency can be a time-consuming and process-heavy exercise. Cryptojackers bypass the hard work and cost of mining — by infecting devices with malware that mines crypto for them. Their scripts perform the complex mining processes, then send the results back to the hacker’s server. This way, the hacker receives the credit (cryptocurrency) without the cost of mining. You may never realize your device has been taken over unless you notice slower processing speeds, lags and delays, or quick battery drains. Fortunately, these scripts don’t usually steal or harm your data. The bad news? Most go completely undetected and are difficult to remove.

Botmaster/Bot herder: Bot army leaders

Botnet hackers create armies of malware-laden bots, and then launch high-volume attacks. They typically target routers, cameras, and other Internet of Things (IoT) devices with weak security systems. Think about unsecured devices on your network (like a PC in your boardroom). These make perfect entry points for bots, especially if you never change the factory-set passwords.

Some funny names but with serious implications, most have the potential to cause pain or worse in your business. There are many more types of hackers, here we have tried to show the most common. As AI technology gains power this space is sure to build and grow.

Don’t give hackers easy access to your devices or networks. Tech Precision’s security services provide options to suit your business and budget, to keep hackers off your devices and out of your system.

To learn more about cyber security threts, read our article explaining the different types of cyber security threats you should be aware of.

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