The different types of hackers

Hacker, hacker, cracker, geek, genius ... The denominations are many but yet very different!

To distinguish and prioritize the different types of hackers, specific categories have been defined.

They aim to understand the many facets of hacking and to differentiate the goals pursued.

The two main types of hackers:

It's like being in a good old American cowboy movie: we're nice and mean!

The nice guy, the White Hat Hacker (the hacker in the white hat)

It is often a person who has reached a maturity of mind as well as sufficient qualifications and approved by others.

It helps victims, it helps to secure systems and fights against cybercrime.

He typically works in a large company to secure systems and networks, but he may very well be a young enthusiast who has learned on the job.

In hacking communities, it is often the judgment of other members that defines whether a person deserves this status or not.

This hacker in the white hat is also the ethical hacker that we will often talk about, his slogan is "learn the attack to better defend oneself" (and not to cause damage).

The bad guy, the Black Hat Hacker (the hacker in the black hat)

The black hat hacker can be as experienced as the white hat hacker or more. But it does work for its own purposes, which are illegal .

It steals data, illegally enters systems or hackers .

This is where the word "pirate" comes in. The hacker in black hat should not be called "hacker". This is unfortunately the definition often found in the media: the term hacker is used wrongly to talk about the hacker.

We have also tried for a long time to use the word "cracker" to refer to this hacker, but between "hacker black hat", "hacker" and "cracker", we get lost!

As ethical hackers, we would have liked that these definitions do not mix, but it is no longer possible to change them. It remains to know how to distinguish oneself.

The third type: The Gray Hat Hacker (the hacker in the gray hat)

As if it was not complicated enough, we needed a third type of hacker.

You understand, it's a mix of White Hat and Black Hat.

This hacker sometimes acts for the good cause, as a White Hat does, but can commit crimes from time to time.

It is introduced for example illegally in a system in order to then warn those responsible for the flaws it has found. His action is laudable, but still illegal.

Other subtypes of hackers:

The hacktivists (contraction of hacker and activist) who act for a cause often political .

They usually attack businesses, not particular users. You can put there the groups Anonymous or Lulzsec .

The script-kiddies are all those young men who, far from understanding the great principles of hacking and the ethics of the hacker, use ready-made programs to cause damage that can be very annoying. .

They also boast most of the time by pretending to be the creators of the programs they use and are therefore not appreciated in the communities.

Conclusion

We have seen that the definitions are numerous and sometimes redundant. The term "hacker" is often used to refer to all these individuals individually.

If you need to remember something from this article, this is the following:

• There are hackers that cause damage (hacking, attacks, thefts, etc ...): they act illegally and are severely punished by law (not only in France).

• There are hackers who learn attacks to defend themselves or help others to defend themselves: they act legally , we'll talk about it right now: ethical hackers.