Who are white, gray and black hat hackers in Australia

Nowadays, cybersecurity is a very popular issue for various companies, individual persons, and governments. The most important aspect of cyber security is understanding the difference between hacking and ethical ways. This includes not only device hacking but also system disruption and infrastructure damage. Hacking is divided into 6 types. People who perform such actions are also divided into categories. Let's take a closer look at who are hackers.

Who are hackers in Australia and APAC?

Hacking is a specific type of activity that is aimed at compromising a network or device. Hackers are people who perform compromising actions. Hacking devices can be different: tablets, computers, smartphones, and other gadgets. Hackers exploit the device's weaknesses and look for possibilities to get unauthorized access to it. There are various ways of hacking: using modern persistent threats or social engineering, script-kiddie, or various malicious applications.

When considering the topic of hacking, it is important to study who are ethical hackers. Not all such experts cause harm; some do their work for good. These are experts who discern system missteps and eliminate them. Such people help improve overall security for a particular company, for example. These people apply the same processes as the black hats we will study later. However, the ethical type helps security and does not harm it.

Why “hat”?

Let’s take a closer look at the hacker’s types. We'll describe each category a little later. First we want to tell you why hackers are called with the addition of the word “hat”. What does it mean? This “nickname” appeared from Westerns 50's - 70's where the major heroes wore white cowboy hats, and the bad guys were in black wide-brimmed hats.

What may a hacker hack in Australia and APAC?

Most dictionaries talk about hackers in a negative way, but not all of them are dangerous and bad. It is wrong to say that hackers are unethical people for affecting the system and thieving data virtually. We need to understand more deeply that hackers are not programmers; they do not always need to know programming languages or write codes to create a malicious program. These days you can find such information on the Internet. In some places, it may be paid, in others, it may be free. Hackers may not know how to write codes, but they must be confident PC users. Their knowledge should be enough to perform the following operations:

• Attempts to hack the security of a database management system (DBMS). Hackers do not attack the DBMS directly; they do it using OS tools whose security has previously been compromised. Such a control system is quite well protected, but it can sometimes be unreliable or has not been thoroughly tested. Having found a bug in the DBMS, the hacker uses it for their own benefit.
• Hacking the OS. You can ask millions of programmers and most of them will say that protecting an OS is more difficult than a DBMS. Of course, there are powerful antivirus solutions that reliably protect your system and offer almost 99.9% security. Black-hat hackers don’t sit idle; they study and create new abilities to hack and often manage to penetrate the system. Scammer only needs to find a weak spot and act there.
• Password theft. A hacker must follow certain steps to steal your password; it is not that easy. Rogue can steal the media or use any file with your password, or spy on how the owner enters their password. Swindler can also use a program that will automatically select a password.
• Search and analysis of "garbage". Some black hat hackers dig in your trash. Even if you have already deleted some files they can still be considered valuable and remain in your trash folder. A hacker can try to gain access to your Recycle Bin in order to discover some important information.
• View computer system disks. Sometimes cyber fraud wants to view hard drives containing files and directories. If the system administrator makes mistakes, the hacker will quickly find a loophole. To remain unidentified, impostor infiltrates the system on behalf of someone else who has access to this system.

Hackers can also impose messages or letters that are already infected. These types of experts can listen to local network segments and intercept messages on the router.

You need to protect all communication channels because hacker attacks will be directed to those places where there is at least a slight vulnerability. Even if you are the owner of a large corporation, you must set aside certain funds to ensure maximum protection. We will discuss the major distinction between hat hackers further, but all of them can find this hole and take benefit of it.

Hacker attacks: what you must know in Australia and New Zealand

All hackers apply their craftsmanship to carry out virtual invasions. But what is meant by these actions? Such an attack is a set of operations that are aimed at identifying oversights in systems and various gadgets such as tablet, mobile, or computer devices. Hacking usually means an illegal action, and hackers mean cyber criminals. Many people think that hackers commit crimes by implementing into the net and stealing info for power, money, selfishness, revenge, or fun. But hacking is not always bad; further we will study all types of hackers and understand that their actions do not always cause harm.

Protection from hacker attacks in Australia and APAC

If your knowledge of PCs is basic, then protect your devices in a simple and clear way - install a licensed anti-virus solution. Read about the latest developments in cyber security and regularly update your antivirus software.

• If you are thinking about corporate systems protection, then you need to understand that a more powerful cybersecurity product requires more resources and more costs to use and maintain.
• All information about you, your family, colleagues, clients, or partners should be reliably protected or stored in a hard-to-reach place so as not to become easy prey for cybercriminals.
• Large companies must secure the server room so that it can only be accessed via the network. Later, we will study the difference between white vs black hat hackers and you will understand why it is important to take such a measure against the last ones.
• Corporations should apply a network audit procedure and hire a responsible specialist who will do this at least once a day (if there are suspiciously many events in the log, then there may have been an attempt to penetrate).
• Do not open suspicious mails at your home or work email. Hackers can sign your colleague or friend to extort money or important data for your work process.

An antivirus often protects against hacker attacks at home. The program works independently; it scans, analyzes, and monitors the system for threats. Also, such a product is updated regularly so that you always have the newest version. An application for protection against virtual attacks is the best solution for the private users, but to protect a corporate network, you will need more powerful and multifunctional software that can perform many cyber security processes.

Are hackers necessary in society?

Who are the hackers? Are they delinquents? The answer to this question is very simple: not all hackers are offenders, and their actions are not always illegal. A hacker is also a human who looks for weaknesses in a system and fixes them and doesn't use them for private purposes. Hackers use technology to modelate an attack virtually, but sometimes they take a psychological approach. To see the importance of such a profession, we will take a detailed look at the activities of each type of cyber criminal.

What should every hacker know in Australia and APAC?

Black hat hackers apply extensive practice and knowledge in programming and application development for effective cyber offenses. White-hat hackers bring benefits and have a certain set of knowledge in the following areas: working with UNIX systems, knowledge of the HTML markup language, understanding of network structure, cryptography, and knowledge of several programming languages. This knowledge is sufficient to effectively “break” systems. It is not difficult to obtain such knowledge; it can be courses on information security or reading topical articles. Also, a future hacker can undergo an internship at a company if they need such an expert. You can learn the topic of hacking using HackTheBox (a unique service where you can practice hacking different OS).

Hat hackers kinds in Australia and New Zealand

Hacker’s profession is associated with a cybercriminal, but this isn’t always a synonym. There are different types of this activity, and it is not always associated with danger or negativity. When we think of a hacker, we imagine a guy in a dark sweatshirt actively tapping on a keyboard in a dark basement. Is this true? Let’s see.

White hackers in Australia and APAC

Let's start with the positive type who is called hackers white hat. Such persons are not idle; this profession is in great demand by many companies (especially government organizations). These people might be hired as corporate computer network security experts, virus and intrusion testers. White hat hackers find positions as freelancers and independent consultants.

• To grasp whether white hats are innocent, let’s study their main areas of action:
• Develop effective instruments that will help quickly detect and block a cyber threat.
• Eliminate any weaknesses in the system before a black hacker detects it.
• Create special software that will protect against virtual attacks, develop a firewall, antivirus, anti-spyware application, or decoy.
• Maintain the overall security record not only for software but also for hardware components of a private or commercial organization.

Black hats in Australia and New Zealand

In contrast, let's move to the black type to better see the otherness. Black hat hackers definition is quite simple - these are dangerous persons who use computer masteries for hacking and blackmail. Their benefit is profit, so they bypass any security protocols and look for network oversights to obtain data and take good money for it. Of course, such actions are illegal, but black hat hackers are unprincipled and do not think about punishment.

• They have enough knowledge to act anonymously for.
• Writing dangerous applications for cyber attacks.
• Making money from corporate or political espionage.
• Creation of phishing messages.
• Creating threats that slow down the system or completely crash it.
• Searching for weak databases with the aim of intruding into vulnerable software.
• Selling personal and financial data on the Dark Net.

Gray hackers in Australia and APAC

There is a definite distinction between the top variants, and that is hackers gray hat. Their operations cannot be called ethical because they look for oversights and infiltrate the system without the host’s agreement. But such people also cannot be called cyber criminals because they do not harm software, don’t steal data and don’t blackmail owners. Their aim is to find weak points and report this to the owner of the site or system. The purpose of such actions is to receive a certain monetary reward in order to correct the error and eliminate the weaknesses that the gray hat hacker discovered before. Such hackers act to personal gain recognition in the sphere of cybersecurity, and they often openly publish the errors they find, thereby destroying the reputation of a particular company.

Their actions are the following:

• Determining the weak sides and vulnerabilities of a website, databases, or software of a particular organization.
• Strengthening the system safety after a certain commission from the owner.
• Providing solutions, advice, or tools to fix vulnerabilities.

Red hats in Australia and New Zealand

If we consider the question of who are red hat hackers, then we cannot call them noble like white types. Their actions are aimed at identifying the actions of black hats to detect and punish them. It seems right and noble, but the red hats use different (often illegal) methods to achieve their targets.

To defuse black hat attackers, red hat hackers apply even more aggressive methods:

• Organization of DDoS attacks.
• Infecting an attacker's system with malicious software to harm their equipment.
• Identifying a black hacker's gadget and applying special instruments to help gain access to it.

Blue hats in Australia and APAC

It can’t be described in one phrase who are blue hat hackers, two descriptions might be clearer. The first category is seekers of revenge; people who do not think about profit or fame, and their aim is to deserve the reputation. They use dangerous software, cyber attacks, and other threats to harm the offender’s devices, information, or website. For example, this could be a disgruntled employee who was fired and now wants to hack into the server of former employer and damage company’s reputation by stealing personal data of clients. Or a blue hat hacker might take revenge on a certain person by hacking his or her email and sending obscene messages to their contact list.

The second description is security experts. The company hires such specialists to specifically attack the system and databases to test their security level. Many organizations carry out such operations to determine the safety of data and info, to test new sites or applications before launching them. A good example is Microsoft Corporation, which often hires blue-hat hackers to test their Windows programs.

Green hackers in Australia and New Zealand

This type is relatively new and can hardly be called harmless because often, such individuals do not have much knowledge in the cyber security field. They can hack or open some systems but often do not know how to correct the mistakes and therefore harm is inevitable. Such hackers are dangerous because they perform cyber attacks with the aim of improving their skills, causing damage, obtaining data for blackmail, or making money. They learn and practice, often making terrible mistakes and not knowing how to proceed.

Some programmers compare green hat hackers and actions of Script Kiddies. Green hats are diligent and hardworking; they study, get certifications and upgrade their proficiencies in the hacking sphere. Script Kiddies are more self-taught amateurs who watch training videos, read forums, buy scripts and codes for hacking.

Hackers and crackers in Australia and APAC

If you are wondering who are crackers and hackers, distinctions may seem obvious. Let's look at 3 main points on which these cyber criminals differ from each other:

• Differences in knowledge. We have already described what hackers need to know in order to do their job effectively. Hackers must have enough knowledge to hack an OS, but they aren't always aware of how to develop their apps.
• Ethical side. Hackers are excellent experts who look for weaknesses in the system and troubleshoot problems. They mark limitations and remove various damages so as to build a safe system. Hackers permeate the OS for personal purposes and without the host's permission.
• Gray hackers. Such specialists also can be called a cracker. They permeate the system unlawfully and do not cause harm, just look for mistakes and report to the owner. A discovered omission might be corrected by them at the request of the system host and for a certain fee.

It is wrong to think that without hackers, the World Wide Web would be safer. Not all are harmful. Previously, such operations were considered entertainment; now, hacking can bring in profits of millions of dollars. However, the losses of large corporations that suffer from the actions of cybercriminals can amount to billions of dollars. Many companies transfer their finances to cryptocurrencies (Ethereum) because they consider this the safest investment. But the field of hacking doesn’t stand still; all hackers dream to become the first in a new goal to raise their reputation. That is why you always need to remember about different modern cybersecurity solutions!