Though hackers are often shunned for being the instigators of criminal computing offenses, hacking actually began as a way of tinkering with technology and finding better ways to use it. Once upon a time, only a select few knew the secrets of software, but now your average 14 year old may be more adept at cracking codes than the CEO of multi-billion dollar company. Let’s step inside the mind of a hacker, shall we?
Motivations
There are many types of hackers out there. The more traditional ones hack in order to uncover and understand the ins-and-outs of a technology, tweaking and breaking codes to discover new possibilities. Many of these guys (and yes they are often male) are committed to the open source scene, developing and sharing code with the purpose of improving the IT infrastructure. Unfortunately, these types of vigilante hackers are increasingly outnumbered by those hacking for monetary gain. In 2007, it was estimated that 67% of those who engage in web attacks are profit-motivated.
The motivations of hackers can be subdivided into four categories:
1. Money
As stated above, 67% of hackers get into cyber crime for monetary gain. Whether it’s stealing people’s bank account information, fraudulently obtaining money or property by altering computerized information, money is the primary motivation behind cybercrime.
Famous money hungy hacker: Albert “Soupnazi” Gonzalez
Albert Gonzalez was a former informant for the US Secret Service who helped the agency hunt hackers. That is, until they found out that he was also working alongside criminals and feeding them information on ongoing investigations. Gonzalez was the mastermind behind the combined credit card theft and subsequent reselling of more than 170 million credit cards and ATM numbers from 2005 through 2007—the biggest such fraud in history. In addition to the card numbers- counterfeit passports, drivers’ licenses, Social Security numbers, birth certificates, college student identification cards, health insurance cards, were also sold at auction.
2. Freedom
Many hackers believe that the Internet should be free and that all computers should be completely accessible. They could also have a political or social agenda where their aim is to vandalize high-profile computers to make a statement. These types of hackers are also known as hacktivists, or Neo Hackers. In general, most hacktivism involves website defacement or denial-of-service attacks. In more extreme cases, hacktivism is used as a tool for cyberterrorism.
Famous Freedom Hacktivist: Gary Mckinnon
Gary Mckinnon is a British hacker who went unnoticed for years hacking NASA, the US Army, US Navy, Department of Defense, and the US Air Force. Considered the biggest military computer hack of all time, Mckinnon was looking for evidence of UFOs, antigravity technology, and the suppression of “free energy”. US authorities claim he deleted critical files from operating systems, which shut down the US Army’s Military District of Washington’s network of 2,000 computers for 24 hours, as well as deleting US Navy Weapons logs, rendering a naval base’s network of 300 computers inoperable after the September 11th terrorist attacks. They claim the cost of tracking and correcting the problems he caused was $800,000.
McKinnon has denied causing any damage, arguing that, in his quest for UFO-related material, he accessed open, unsecured machines with no passwords and no firewalls and that he left countless notes pointing out their many security failings. He adamantly disputes the damage and the financial loss claimed by the US as concocted in order to create a dollar amount justifying an extraditable offense.
Watch interview with Gary Mckinnon:
3. Love
Love is a many splendored thing… until you become suspicious of your partner’s fidelity. There are lots of spying and hacking resources on the web for those trying to catch a cheater. So, for those weary that a boyfriend or girlfriend, wife or husband might be two-timing, what better way to use computer hacking knowledge than to tap into your suspect’s computer!
Famous Love Hacker: Lorenzo Tucker
Lorenzo Tucker is a certified computer forensic examiner (CCFE) and certified hacking forensic investigator (CHFI) who helps suspicious partners catch love rats. Even if they have deleted an incriminating e-mail or text message from a computer or cellphone, it can still be retrieved. Moreover, he follows specific procedures that make the evidence he gathers admissible in a court of law.
4. Personal gain
In hacker culture, a script kiddie or skiddie is often assumed to be a juvenile using scripts developed by others to attack computer systems and networks either to impress friends or gain credit in computer-enthusiast communities.
Famous script kiddie: Jeffery Lee Parson a.k.a. T33kid
Jeffrey Lee Parson was an 18-year-old high school student from Minnesota who was responsible for spreading a variant of the infamous Blaster computer worm. Parson only modified the original Blaster worm, already prevalent, using a hex editor to add his screen name to the existing executable, and then attached another existing backdoor, Lithium, and posted it on his website. By making this subtle modification, authorities were able to trace the name back to him. The program was part of a DoS attack against computers using the Microsoft Windows operating system. The attack took the form of a SYN flood which caused only minimal damage. He was sentenced to 18 months in prison in 2005.
part 1st is excellent, hope whenever I get time will try to watch rest of the parts
You need to have that skill to be a hacker. If you have that skill it should be used not misused.
That’s something like I had half of my head does not go!
shame on these people . DıtDıtDıtdıdıdıyoooo