BASIC 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.
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, and black hat and script kiddies.
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.
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.
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 honey pot (a
trap set up by computer security personnel).
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.
A social status among hackers, elite is used to describe the most skilled.
Newly discovered exploits will circulate among these hackers. Elite groups such
as Masters of Deception conferred a kind of credibility on their members.
A script kiddies (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) kiddies (i.e. kid, child—an individual
lacking knowledge and experience, immature).
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.
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 Blue Hat to represent a series of
security briefing events.
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 cyber warfare operatives of nation states.
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.)
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.
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.
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.
Stay Connected, Stay Safe.
