With Einstein Experience
The majority of those who do such a thing consider hacking to be a 'skill' that is learned over time - the reality is somewhat different. With a growing number of websites dedicated to the hacking community the truth is that anybody can utilise the tools online and go off merrily hacking other people's networks with virtually no 'skill' whatsoever. It has become easy to do simply because the majority of businesses today take little or no precautions to ensure that their data remains private. The truth of this argument can be seen by simply installing a 'firewall' on your home PC. Leave it on for a day or two, surf the Net, and see how many times your computer comes under attack from others - it will frighten you to death!
The majority of those who do such a thing consider hacking to be a 'skill' that is learned over time - the reality is somewhat different. With a growing number of websites dedicated to the hacking community the truth is that anybody can utilise the tools online and go off merrily hacking other people's networks with virtually no 'skill' whatsoever. It has become easy to do simply because the majority of businesses today take little or no precautions to ensure that their data remains private. The truth of this argument can be seen by simply installing a 'firewall' on your home PC. Leave it on for a day or two, surf the Net, and see how many times your computer comes under attack from others - it will frighten you to death!
This often involves more than just 'luck', it involves utilising certain skills and techniques not available to the general hacker. Such techniques usually involve finding a particular network, observation of that network and finally exploitation of the particular network. The difference between the super hacker and the ordinary hacker is a distinct one. The distinction comes in hacking or, as I prefer, 'cracking' the network without detection by the owner of such a network, which is a one way to describe another activity - spying!
Hacking is a very real phenomenon, certainly exceeding the scope of fiction. It is also very common. If only big time hacking permeates out to the media and makes the headlines, less dramatic hacking takes place all the time, everywhere and every day. From Mr Everybody’s email that gets stolen and used to send massive spam messages on his behalf, to more painful credit card fraud and abuse, the trend continues and has gotten virtually beyond control.
Indeed, hacking is far from being limited to the sensational such as alleged vote rigging done by a country to another, or to snatching highly classified defence secrets. It happens at all levels and in all sectors. Two years ago international French TV channel TV5Monde experienced a broadcasting failure that lasted several hours. Investigation showed that it was an inside job and that someone had intentionally pulled out a few network wires from the servers’ main switch.
We all have to worry about being hacked, whoever we may be and whatever our business. Still, the risk is significantly lower for the private consumer than for big organisations, financial institutions, corporations, governments and the military; it is understood.
The size and the complexity of the networks, whether local ones or those going through the Internet, the mind boggling amount of data exchanged all the time over these networks and the density of the traffic, all are elements that make hacking more likely to take place than ever. Preventing it completely is impossible. It’s like expecting a megalopolis like Tokyo, Paris, London, Mexico, New York or Los Angeles to be 100 per cent crime-free.
Using strong, hard to guess or to decipher passwords certainly is a recommended method, whether to log into your computer or to protect your email box and other online services you may be using. By any measure “Tr6@bn#7KBw” is better than “123456”, for example… As unbelievable as it may sound, a large number of consumers do use “123456” as password.
Still, strong passwords have ceased to be an efficient method to protect you against hacking. The criminals have countless ways to circumvent such protection. They can simply steal the password by enticing you with fake emails or advertising to “click here”. A huge number of free software applications that you may first be glad to download and install without paying a penny have no other purpose than to steal your password without you even knowing what is going on. By the time you realise what happened it is usually too late. Just like in real life, it is all about deception.
You can install good anti-virus programmes, you can even go to extremes and install a physical firewall (the ultimate protection as it is known), hackers will still find a way to get into your computer, your data and your files if they really want to. And then again, you have the “inside job” that every corporation fears. To which extend can you trust the IT technician or engineer who has virtually unlimited access to the network?
In the last few years the question of computer and data security has become a speciality in its own right, within the world of Information Technology. Like there are database specialists or web designers, for instance, there are now IT Security specialists.
Hackmageddon, the nicely named Information Security Timelines and Statistics web site, indicates that in November last year, 82.7 per cent of hacking was cybercrime, 9.3 per cent was hacktivism, 4 per cent was cyber espionage, 2.7 per cent cyber warfare and 1.3 per cent was unknown. Hacktivism is a neologism that refers to “…the act of hacking, or breaking into a computer system, for a politically or socially motivated purpose.” (whatis.com).
The site also provides interesting statistics about the sectors that are affected, as hacked targets. Surprisingly it is the industry that is the most severely hit, and by far. Single individuals come in third position (your reason to worry, as private user), whereas the mil.
Hackers aren’t what you see in the movies. Find out who they are, how they work and how you can stop them.
We’ve all seen hackers on TV and in the movies. Often misanthropic loners or members of teenage gangs, they use their elite skills to break into the systems of banks, governments or sinister organisations, using cool, visual tools to crack security systems and passwords. They might face some tough opposition, but they’ll tackle every obstacle thrown in their way by, well, typing really fast. At the end of the mission, they’ll retire to their secretive lairs in crumbling tenement blocks, munching pizza and drinking energy drinks from behind a bank of monitors, waiting for their next attack.
Needless to say, this isn’t representative of who hackers are or what they do. A hacker can be anyone from a teenage kid hacking from a bedroom to a sixty-something coder who’s been hacking since the mainframe days. Some hackers are loners or misanthropes, but others may be married or have a family and hold down steady jobs. They’re not using slick 3D tools or clicking buttons with skulls on them, either, but working with the tools and environments that look very similar to those used by system administrators and developers every day. So, who are the hackers, and how do they actually work?
First of all, there are many different types of hackers. For one thing, a huge number of people who would call themselves hackers don’t actually do anything negative. They like to analyse systems, devices and applications, trying to work out what makes them tick and whether they could be made to work better. They sometimes come up with great ideas. Others simply want to match their wits against a system or network’s security and probe for vulnerabilities, often passing on what they find to the company responsible, either for free or for financial reward. Some companies even employ these ‘white hat’ hackers full-time, and a number have turned their skills into a successful penetration testing business.
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