Hackers

By: Jacob, Justin and Anthony

Table of Contents

1.What is a hacker?

2.Types of hackers.

3.Hacking statistics in 2016.

What is a hacker?

In computing, a hacker is any skilled computer expert that uses their

technical knowledge to overcome a problem. While "hacker" can refer
to any computer programmer, the term has become associated in
popular culture with a "security hacker", someone who, with their
technical knowledge, uses bugs or exploits to break into computer
systems.
 Types of hackers
Security hacker: People involved with circumvention of computer security.

White hats: Hackers employed with the efforts of keeping data safe from other hackers
by looking for loopholes and hackable areas. This type of hacker typically gets paid
quite well, and receives no jail time due to the consent of the company that hired them.
Grey Hats

Grey hats: Hackers who are neither good nor bad, and often include
people who hack for fun or to troll. They may both fix and exploit,
though grey hats are usually associated with black hat hackers.
Black Hats/Crackers

Black hats/Crackers: hackers with malicious intentions, and steal, exploit, and
sell data. They are usually motivated by personal gain. A cracker is someone
who knows the web similar to hackers and doesn't use the internet for gaining
any extensive knowledge and are professionals in what they do but they are not
the white collar heroes as security hackers are. Crackers use their skills to earn
themselves profits or to benefit from criminal gain. Crackers find exploits to
systems securities and vulnerabilities but often use them to their advantage by
either selling the fix to the company themselves or keeping the exploit and
selling it to other black hat hackers to steal information or gain royalties.
Hacking Statistics in 2016

Instances of hacking are on the rise. According to Key findings from the Global State of
Information Security Survey 2017 by PricewaterhouseCoopers, there has been a 38% increase in
the instances of phishing scams and other cyber security incidents. Breaches are not limited to
computer systems. Hackers often hack cloud architecture and have taken to attaching mobile
devices. More than 28% of survey respondents reporting instances of hacking of these types of
devices. These increases in cyber security issues are likely the reason why 55% of individuals,
businesses and other entities collaborate with cyber security specialists to help mitigate and
reduce cybersecurity risks. For instance, going into 2016:

52% have intrusion detection tools in place.

51% actively monitor and analyze information security intelligence.
48% conduct vulnerability assessments.
47% conduct cyber threat assessments.
47% have security information and event management tools
45% use threat intelligence subscription services.
44% conduct data system penetration testing.
Ethical Hacking

Ethical hacking, a practice often performed by skilled computer experts or white hats, is the use
of programming skills to determine weak spots or vulnerabilities latent in a computer system. The
world of hacking is divided based on intent. Non-ethical hackers or black hats will use their skills
to exploit the vulnerable spots of a computer network to promote mischief or to tamper with
confidential information for personal gain or other reasons.
Law Consequences

The law punishes hacking under the computer crime statutes. These crimes carry penalties
ranging from a class B misdemeanor (punishable by up to six months in prison, a fine of up to
$1,000, or both) to a class B felony (punishable by up to 20 years in prison, a fine of up to
$15,000, or both).