Hackers are typically divided into 3 subcategories and a couple of variances that aren’t necessarily hackers but more so the leeches that feed off hackers’ designs and tools. The three main groups are black hat, grey hat, and white hat.
Let’s start with the most infamous subclass of hacker, the black hat. Black hats are most commonly seen as crackers or those would break into systems to corrupt or steal data. For example, the 2008 election was a huge target for hackers and one managed to break into Sarah Palin’s yahoo account by guessing the security question and exposed her personal e-mails to the world via WikiLeaks. That would be considered black hat hacking even though what was found in the e-mails may or may not have been official business being done through personal accounts.
A grey hat hacker is essentially just your average hacker who may or may not at some point in his or her hacking career crossed a legal or ethical boundary. These are the kind of people who break into systems just to do it. While they may not be looking for anything specific, often times a grey hat will hack into a system and leave it alone. This is because they aren’t looking to corrupt files or steal data; they’re simply broadening their knowledge of system structures and testing new techniques.
A white hat hacker is one who understands system security and uses hacking/cracking techniques to better improve system security. In some cases white hat hackers will break into systems to reverse effects of a black hat intrusion. We’ll use the election 2008 as an example once again. After the black hat gained control of the account and had already leaked the documents, a white hat or sometimes called “white knight” re-hacked the account to restore its security. He couldn’t undo the leaked documents because once they’re out there it’s almost impossible to contain their replication and keep them from going viral.
So what do we see in these three sub classes? Personally I see a misunderstanding perpetrated by the general population in regards to the term “hacker.” Then there must be some kind of definition that encompasses all three sub classes right? The answer is yes and no. People too often just plug in solutions that have already been established without coming up with something themselves, these are the leeches mentioned above. Everyone encounters problems in their lives; hackers are just regular people who create solutions to the problems presented to them.
- Art by Avi Ithier
