What’s a Hacker?
“Hacker” is some of those terms that’s a different meaning based on who uses it. Because of Hollywood, many people think a hacker is someone who gains illicit use of a computer and steals stuff or breaks into military networks and launches missiles for fun.
Nowadays, a hacker doesn’t have to become a geek from a top university who breaks into banks and government systems. A hacker could be anyone, even a child next door.
Having an ordinary laptop, anyone can download simple software off the Internet to see exactly what switches into and out of a computer on the same network. And individuals who try this don’t will have the most effective of intentions.
A Brief History of Hackers
Nowadays, the term “hacker” is becoming synonymous with people who sit in dark rooms, anonymously terrorizing the Internet. Nonetheless it was not always that way. The original hackers were benign creatures. In reality, these were students.
To anyone attending the Massachusetts Institute of Technology through the 1950s and 60s, the word “hack” simply meant a stylish or inspired means to fix any given problem. Lots of the early MIT hacks tended to be practical jokes. One of the most extravagant saw a replica of a campus police car wear the top of Institute’s Great Dome.
As time passes, the term became connected with the burgeoning computer programming scene at MIT and beyond. For these early pioneers, a hack was a task of programming prowess. Such activities were greatly admired because they combined expert knowledge with an innovative instinct.
Why Does a Hacker Hack?
Hackers’motivations vary. For many, it’s economic. They earn an income through cybercrime. Some have a political or social agenda – their aim is to vandalize high-profile computers to make a statement. This type of hacker is called a cracker as their main purpose is to crack the security of high profile systems.
Others do it for the sheer thrill. When asked by the internet site SafeMode.org why he defaces web servers, a cracker replied, “A high-profile deface gives me an adrenalin shot and then before long I want another shot, that’s why I can’t stop.” [1]
Nowadays, we’re faced with a new form of find a hacker – your next door neighbor. Each day, tens and thousands of people download simple software tools that enable them to “sniff” wifi connections. Some try this simply to eavesdrop on which others are doing online. Others try this to steal private data in an effort steal an identity.
The Most Common Attacks
- SideJacking / Sniffing
Sidejacking is a website attack method the place where a hacker uses packet sniffing to steal a period cookie from an internet site you just visited. These cookies are often sent back again to browsers unencrypted, even when the first website log-in was protected via HTTPS. Anyone listening can steal these cookies and then utilize them access your authenticated web session. This recently made news just because a programmer released a Firefox plug-in called Firesheep that makes it simple for an intruder sitting towards you on an open network (like a public wifi hotspot) to sidejack many popular website sessions. Like, a sidejacker using Firesheep could dominate your Facebook session, thereby gaining use of all of your sensitive data, and even send viral messages and wall posts to all of your friends.
- DNS Cache Poisoning
In DNS cache poisoning, data is introduced right into a Domain Name System (DNS) name server’s cache database that did not originate from authoritative DNS sources. It’s an accidental consequence of a misconfiguration of a DNS cache or of a maliciously crafted attack on the name server. A DNS cache poisoning attack effectively changes entries in the victim’s copy of the DNS name server, then when he or she types in a legitimate site name, he or she is sent instead to a fraudulent page.
- Man-In-the-Middle Attacks
A man-in-the-middle attack, bucket brigade attack, or Janus attack, is a questionnaire of active eavesdropping in which the attacker makes independent connections with the victims and relays messages between them, making them believe that they’re talking directly to one another over an exclusive connection, when in fact the entire conversation has been controlled by the attacker. The attacker must be able to intercept all messages going between the two victims and inject new ones. Like, an attacker within reception selection of an unencrypted wifi access point can insert himself as a man-in-the-middle. Or an attacker can pose being an online bank or merchant, letting victims sign in over a SSL connection, and then a attacker can log onto the true server utilising the victim’s information and steal bank card numbers.
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