We all heard stories or news about someone’s computer or network being hacked. What I did not know was that there are seven types of hackers that you could put into categories, so I got curious about how hacking worked and what those seven types could be.
Before we go into the seven colours or types of hacking, I wanted to know what hacking meant. Well, the description given by Malwarebytes indicates that:
‘Hacking refers to activities that seek to compromise digital devices, such as computers, smartphones, tablets, and even entire networks. And while hacking might not always be for malicious purposes, nowadays most references to hacking, and hackers, characterize it/them as unlawful activity by cybercriminals—motivated by financial gain, protest, information gathering (spying), and even just for the “fun” of the challenge.’
“Hacking: What Is Hacking?: How Do Hackers Hack?” Malwarebytes. Accessed September 27, 2022. https://www.malwarebytes.com/hacker.
And although many shine a bad light on hacking due to the viruses and malware it creates, that isn’t the only type of hacking there is to know. There are seven or possibly more types of hacking. One through six are divided by colours, making them easier to differentiate.
| Types of hacker | Description |
| Black hat | Black hackers are known to be the malicious type. They spread viruses, try to obtain confidential information, or mess with people. They are sometimes hard to capture, and the name comes from western cinema, where you often see hackers dressed in black. |
| White hat | White hackers are the complete opposite of black hackers. They don’t use their intelligence for hacking to do malicious things. Instead, they usually help to build firewalls and security systems for various institutions. They help companies to defend themselves against cyber crimes or help to track down the black hats. |
| Green hat | Green hats are mostly seen as beginner hackers. They are not as proficient as white or black hackers, but they are interested in learning the field. |
| Grey hat | Grey hackers, as the colour suggests, are in between the black and white hackers. They may use the way of black hackers to help companies to find their faults in the security system. It can be compared to how people see a morally grey character in books or movies. |
| Red hat | Red hackers are known to be ethical hackers like white hackers. The only difference that sets them apart is the aggressiveness of the red hackers. White hackers follow the rules, while red hackers use more ruthless tactics that can be harmful to prevent black hackers from breaching. The ruthless behaviour can cause damage by harming the system they were supposed to protect. |
| Blue hat | Blue hackers are hackers that are out for revenge. Blue hackers use their knowledge to spam emails or disclose personal or confidential information to the public, for example, all in the act of revenge. |
| Script kiddies | Script kiddies are hackers that are also seen as beginners like the green hackers. However, script kiddies don’t learn new programs or ways to hack. Instead, they opt to buy malware tools and scripts, which can be dangerous due to the limited knowledge they have of hacking. |
However, with how fast we are growing with digital media in our lives, the types of hackers we have can always change or grow. These are all the seven I found, for now, maybe if I had looked through the big dark web, I could have found more. It was really interesting to look up these different types of hackers, and I am still curious to see how they differentiate in actions since some of them are still somehow intertwined. Or perhaps I should try out hacking to see what it is all about and figure out in what category I fit after the green one. The most important thing is to stay safe from black hackers and protect your private and public devices as best as possible.
I hope you enjoyed this week’s blog post 🙂
Bibliography
DotNek Software and Mobile App Development. “What Are the Seven Types of Hackers?” Web Analysis, Web Design, Software programming, Mobile App development, DotNek , Washington, United States, en. DotNek Software and Mobile App Development, February 27, 2022. https://www.dotnek.com/Blog/Security/what-are-the-seven-types-of-hackers.
“Hacking: What Is Hacking?: How Do Hackers Hack?” Malwarebytes. Accessed September 27, 2022. https://www.malwarebytes.com/hacker.
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