Hacking: The Biggest Security Threat For Organizations And Personal Users

Hacking: The Biggest Security Threat For Organizations And Personal Users

Introduction

Hacker is a person who finds and uses holes in security of the software or a computer. So, it can also gain access to protected resources. Those who break the security are also called crackers. Hackers gathered in the hacker community use the term cracker to distinguish themselves from criminals, while the term hacker hackers use to identify network intruders. However, the major objective of this paper is to describe hackers, their threats and what we can do to protect from them.

Skills

The highest level of skills among those characterized by hackers or crackers who are developing new, unknown attack methods. Often, however, attacks make people who do not have more knowledge about security and only use the ready-made tools. Among those involved in computer security functions for them pejorative term script kiddies.

Authors of Internet worms, viruses and Trojan horses are often called in the media, hackers. Due to the fact that the virus distributed by e-mail relies heavily on low-level knowledge of the users who do not follow basic safety rules; the term hacker can be questioned in this case. Similar objections raised against people stealing confidential data do not break a DRM method, but using social engineering (Paulsen, 2005).

Threats of Hackers

Particular interest to hackers / crackers is based on the Gaps (holes) in Operating systems, Programs, and Networks (security systems). It also includes devices (that are mostly connected to the network, but also include the telephone), authentication systems (that access control to resources), (remote) taking control of the affected system (gaining power system supervisor - super user), Technology (electronic) camouflage and destroy evidence (see also: camouflage military operational), advanced working knowledge of techniques aggression ICT (e.g. sniffing, spoofing, cracking, creating Trojans, exploits, etc.). It also includes structure and functioning of the operating system, in particular the operating system kernel and focuses on Systems, UNIX and Linux

Division

Due to the applied ethics is distinguished by the following breakdown of security hackers. The classification below is not adopted widely, and often causes controversy in the environment:

Black Hat - Hackers are running at or beyond the limits of the law. Errors found are publish at all, using them in an illegal manner, or publish immediately in the form of ready-made programs (known exploits ) that can be used by people with lower skills (such as script kiddies).

White Hat - Hackers operating completely legally, or not trying to cause harm. Discovered their security holes usually indicate the form in which it can be easily patched by the authors of the software, but difficult to use in order to harm someone.

Gray Hat - Hackers/crackers adopt the methods of operation of these two groups. Hats come from the old black and white westerns, where the color of the cap separated the good ones from the bad ones (Paulsen, 2005).

Objectives

Hackers and crackers-burglars work for various reasons: for some it is the desire of profit that can be obtained ...