BASICS
OF HACKING-
Hacker means someone who finds weaknesses in a
computer or computer network, though the term can also refer to someone with an
advanced understanding of computers and computer networks.Hackers may be
motivated by a multitude of reasons, such as profit, protest, or challenge. The
subculture that has evolved around hackers is
often
referred to as the computer underground but it is now an open community. While
other uses of the word hacker exist that are not related to computer security,
they are rarely used in mainstream context.
Classifications:-
Several
subgroups of the computer underground with different attitudes use different
terms to demarcate themselves from each other, or try to exclude some specific
group with which they do not agree. Eric S.
Raymond
(author of The New Hacker's Dictionary) advocates that members of the computer
underground should be called crackers. Yet, those people see themselves as
hackers and even try to include the views of Raymond in what they see as one
wider hacker culture, a view harshly rejected by Raymond himself. Instead of a
hacker/cracker dichotomy, they give more emphasis to a spectrum of different
categories, such as white hat, grey hat, black hat and script kiddie.
White hat:-
A white
hat hacker breaks security for non-malicious reasons, perhaps to test their own
security system or while working for a security company which makes security
software. The term "white hat" in Internet slang refers to an ethical
hacker. This classification also includes individuals who perform penetration
tests and vulnerability assessments within a contractual agreement. The
EC-Council , also known as the International Council of Electronic Commerce
Consultants has developed certifications, course ware, classes, and online
training covering the diverse arena of Ethical Hacking.
Black hat:-
A "black hat" hacker is a hacker who "violates computer
security for little reason beyond maliciousness or for personal gain"
(Moore, 2005). Black hat hackers form the stereotypical, illegal hacking groups
often portrayed in popular culture, and are "the epitome of all that the
public fears in a computer criminal". Black hat
hackers break into secure
networks to destroy data or make the network unusable for those who are
authorized
to use the network.
Part 1: Targeting
The
hacker determines what network to break into during this phase. The target may
be of particular interest to the hacker, either politically or personally, or
it may be picked at random. Next, they will port scan a network to determine if
it is vulnerable to attacks, which is just testing all ports on a host machine
for a response. Open ports—those that do respond—will allow a hacker to access
the system.
Part 2: Research and
Information Gathering
It is in this stage that
the hacker will visit or contact the target in some way in hopes of finding out
vital information that will help them access the system. The main way that hackers
get desired results from this stage is from "social engineering",
which will be explained below. Aside from social engineering, hackers can also
use a technique called "dumpster diving". Dumpster diving is when a
hacker will literally search through
users'
garbage in hopes of finding documents that have been thrown away, which may
contain information a hacker can use directly or indirectly, to help them gain
access to a network.
Part 3: Finishing The Attack
This is
the stage when the hacker will invade the preliminary target that he/she was
planning to attack or steal. Many "hackers" will be caught after this
point, lured in or grabbed by any data also known as a honeypot (a trap set up
by computer security personnel).
Grey hat:-
A grey
hat hacker is a combination of a Black Hat and a White Hat Hacker. A Grey Hat
Hacker may surf the internet and hack into a computer system for the sole
purpose of notifying the administrator that their system has been hacked, for
example. Then they may offer to repair their system for a small fee. Elite
hacker:-
circulate among these
hackers. Elite groups such as Masters of Deception conferred a kind of credibility
on
their members.
Script kiddi:-
A script kiddie (or
skiddie) is a non-expert who breaks into computer systems by using pre-packaged
automated tools written by others, usually with little understanding of the
underlying concept—hence the term script
(i.e. a prearranged plan or set of activities)
kiddie (i.e. kid, child—an individual lacking knowledge and
experience, immature).
Neophyt:-
A neophyte, "n00b", or "newbie" is someone who is
new to hacking or phreaking and has almost no knowledge or
experience of the workings
of technology, and hacking.
Blue hat:-
A blue hat hacker is
someone outside computer security consulting firms who is used to bug test a
system prior
to its launch, looking for
exploits so they can be closed. Microsoft also uses the term BlueHat to
represent a
series of security briefing
events.
Hacktivis:-
A
hacktivist is a hacker who utilizes technology to announce a social,
ideological, religious, or political message. In general, most hacktivism
involves website defacement or denial-of-service attacks. Nation state
Intelligence agencies and cyberwarfare operatives of nation states. Attack:-
A typical approach in an
attack on Internet-connected system is:
1. Network
enumeration: Discovering information about the intended target.
2. Vulnerability
analysis: Identifying potential ways of attack.
3. Exploitation:
Attempting to compromise the system by employing the vulnerabilities found
through the vulnerability analysis.
In order to do so, there
are several recurring tools of the trade and techniques used by computer
criminals
and security experts.
Security exploit:-
A
security exploit is a prepared application that takes advantage of a known
weakness. Common examples of security exploits are SQL injection, Cross Site
Scripting and Cross Site Request Forgery which abuse security
holes
that may result from substandard programming practice. Other exploits would be
able to be used through FTP, HTTP, PHP, SSH, Telnet and some web-pages. These
are very common in website/domain hacking. Techniques
Vulnerability scanner:-
A
vulnerability scanner is a tool used to quickly check computers on a network
for known weaknesses.Hackers also commonly use port scanners. These check to
see which ports on a specified computer are "open" or available to
access the computer, and sometimes will detect what program or service is
listening on that port, and its version number. (Note that firewalls defend
computers from intruders by limiting access to ports/machines both inbound and
outbound, but can still be circumvented.) Password cracking:-
Password
cracking is the process of recovering passwords from data that has been stored
in or transmitted by a computer system. A common approach is to repeatedly try
guesses for the password.
Packet sniffer:-
A packet sniffer is an
application that captures data packets, which can be used to capture passwords
and
other data in transit over
the network.
Spoofing attack
(Phishing):-
A spoofing attack involves
one program, system, or website successfully masquerading as another by
falsifying
data and thereby being
treated as a trusted system by a user or another program. The purpose of this
is
usually to fool programs,
systems, or users into revealing confidential information, such as user names
and
passwords, to the attacker.
Rootkit:-
A
rootkit is designed to conceal the compromise of a computer's security, and can
represent any of a set of programs which work to subvert control of an
operating system from its legitimate operators. Usually, a rootkit will obscure
its installation and attempt to prevent its removal through a subversion of
standard system security. Rootkits may include replacements for system binaries
so that it becomes impossible for the legitimate user to detect the presence of
the intruder on the system by looking at process tables. Social engineering:-
When a Hacker, typically a
black hat, is in the second stage of the targeting process, he or she will
typically use some social
engineering tactics to get enough information to access the network. A common
practice for hackers who
use this technique, is to contact the system administrator and play the role of
a
user who cannot get access
to his or her system.
Trojan horses:-
A Trojan horse is a program
which seems to be doing one thing, but is actually doing another. A trojan
horse
can be used to set up a
back door in a computer system such that the intruder can gain access later.
(The name
refers to the horse from
the Trojan War, with conceptually similar function of deceiving defenders into
bringing an intruder
inside.)
Viruses:-
A virus is a
self-replicating program that spreads by inserting copies of itself into other
executable code or
documents. Therefore, a
computer virus behaves in a way similar to a biological virus, which spreads by
inserting itself into
living cells. While some are harmless or mere hoaxes most computer viruses are
considered malicious.
Worm:-
Like a virus, a worm is
also a self-replicating program. A worm differs from a virus in that it
propagates
through
computer networks without user intervention. Unlike a virus, it does not need
to attach itself to an existing program. Many people conflate the terms
"virus" and "worm", using them both to describe any
self-propagating program.
Key loggers:-
A key logger is a tool designed to record
('log') every keystroke on an affected machine for later retrieval. Its purpose
is usually to allow the user of this tool to gain access to confidential
information typed on the affected machine, such as a user's password or other
private data. Some key loggers uses virus-, trojan-, and rootkit-like methods
to remain active and hidden. However, some key loggers are used in legitimate
ways and sometimes to even enhance computer security. As an example, a business
might have a key logger on a computer used at a point of sale and data
collected by the key logger could be used for catching employee fraud.
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