The nefarious computer hacker.
According to Hollywood, a misaligned basement-dwelling geek, adorned with the glow of the several computer monitors that surround them. A code magician, able to write complex security-bypassing algorithms at the drop of a hat that can grant them access to even the securest of computer networks, even the “database mainframe”. As technically gifted as they are morally suspect, they’re trained in several languages, all the programming variety, and know everything there is to know about the complex, technical world of computing.
But the image doesn’t always fit the reality.
Here’s how.
In the early days of computers, the term hacker was actually a positive term. It simply meant someone who could create, modify and improve computer/network software. However, over the years the term morphed – thanks partly to Hollywood – to become synonymous with illegal Internet activities.
This in turn as led the industry to segregate between the different types of hackers. Hackers who still embrace the positive meaning of the term are referred to as White Hat hackers. For example security researchers who probe network security for weaknesses so they can report on their findings to the good guys.
Black Hat hacking refers to those who compromise computer security for personal gain or malicious intent.
Grey Hat hacking can be similar to Black Hat hacking but without any malicious intent.
This leads us nicely to the next myth – that hacking is illegal. It doesn’t have to be. White Hat hackers are often employed by the very people they are trying to compromise.
Companies even offer bounties for people who can find security weaknesses in their services – providing they follow strict guidelines that won’t actually harm their business.
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While many people who would describe themselves as computer hackers are indeed technically gifted computer programmers, with the increasingly effective security technologies used online, as well as the dawn of ‘unbreakable’ encryption, cyber criminals are ever more frequently turning to social engineering techniques in order to gain access to things they shouldn’t be accessing.
Social engineering means NOT technical. It means tricking someone into handing over information a criminal needs. Like pretending to be someone they’re not to get someone’s password or PIN. Social engineering means testing humans for weaknesses, not computer systems.
These days, if you’re going to get your online presence compromised, it is probably because someone has tricked you with some type of social engineering technique, as opposed to some kind of technical coding magic. Computer hackers who use advanced technical skills to compromise accounts are unlikely to ever target you.
Example – the celebrity nudity leaks over the last few years was the result of social engineering. Or more specifically, a relatively simple phishing scam.
Is social engineering really hacking? It really depends on who you ask. The end results are often still the same.
If you’ve watched a movie about computer hackers – here isx a list of things you probably saw.
– Someone typing frantically.
– A siren blaring “Unauthorised Intruder Alert”
– The good guy trying to type faster than the bad guy
– The word “database” and “mainframe” being uttered in every other sentence
– The bad guy still trying to type faster than the good guy
– Someone creating some complex piece of code on the fly
– More fast typing
Reality; none of that is real.
Even for computer hackers who take the more technical wizardry route, the majority of software used when trying to gain access to a computer system or network is pretty boring. It’s not fast. It doesn’t require you to type frantically. It doesn’t set off “Intruder” alerts and it doesn’t try to “hack the mainframe”.
In reality it’s usually just brute-force software downloaded from the Internet that simply probes a computer system until it finds a weakness you can potentially exploit. And it can take many hours of just staring at a computer screen until it finds something. Which it probably won’t.
There are some people out there that pretty much exactly match the image that you may expect a hacker to be.
But that’s rare. Most are normal, sociable people with normal jobs that don’t live in basements. For most, hacking is a trade, even a full time job. For those who do it illegally, they still probably don’t match up to the stereotypes you have in your head.
So don’t listen to Hollywood.