The best protection is to be proactive by keeping your firewall turned on, updating and running reputable antivirus software and antispyware applications, and immediately installing all operating system updates. Although authorities sometimes succeed in shutting down a hacking site in one country, the same operation may have multiple nodes in many countries, allowing the group to operate 24/7. The challenges for law enforcement are that hackers often leave little evidence, use the computers of unsuspecting victims, and cross multiple jurisdictions. That means the larger enterprise remains intact. The Microsoft phone scam, for instance, resulted in the arrest of four people in the UK, but the calls actually originated in India. The Black Hat hacking problem is global, which makes it extremely difficult to stop. Of those attacks, 85 percent included malware attachments, and the remainder had links to compromised websites.
In the same experiment, email accounts for fake employees attracted phishing attacks 21 hours after they were established. In one experiment, a group of computers put online by the BBC was attacked in 71 minutes. In these cases, attack bots roam the internet to find unprotected computers to infiltrate. Many hacks are swift and automated and don't involve human contact. To add further insult, the victim is typically charged an exorbitant fee for this "help." When the victim grants access or downloads the recommended software, it allows criminals to harvest passwords and banking information or surreptitiously take over the computer and use it to launch attacks on others.
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In this scam, the hacker tries to convince potential victims to allow remote access to their computers or to download software. The phone scam involving a hacker claiming to work for Microsoft who calls to help with a problem is one example of how call centers are used. Some Black Hat organizations even have call centers. Organizations boast partners, resellers, vendors, and associates, and they buy and sell licenses for malware to other criminal organizations for use in new regions or markets.
Some develop and sell malicious software themselves, but others prefer to work through franchises or through leasing arrangements, just like in the legitimate business world.ĭistributing malicious software isn't difficult, partly because hacking today operates like big business. Many get their "jobs" through forums and other connections on the Dark Web. Not surprisingly, Black Hat hackers often develop specialties, such as phishing or managing remote access tools. Black Hat malware kits sold on the Dark Web (the part of the internet deliberately hidden from search engines) sometimes even include warranties and customer service. The upper echelon of Black Hats tends to be skilled hackers who work for sophisticated criminal organizations that sometimes provide collaboration tools for their workers and offer service agreements to customers, just like legitimate businesses.
Some were trained to hack by bosses eager to make a fast buck. Many Black Hat hackers started as novice "script kiddies" using purchased hacker tools to exploit security lapses. Fortunately, security experts released decryption tools within days of WannaCry's appearance, and their fast response time limited extortion payments to about $120,000 - slightly more than 1 percent of the potential haul. Within the first two weeks of its release, it infected approximately 400,000 computers in 150 countries. The WannaCry ransomware released in May 2017 is one example. While hacking might have become a major intelligence gathering tool for governments, it's still more common for Black Hats to work alone or with organized crime organizations for easy money. They may also release malware that destroys files, holds computers hostage, or steals passwords, credit card numbers, and other personal information. The terms derive from the color coding scheme found in 1950s westerns, where the bad guys wore black hats, and the good guys wore white or other light colors.īlack Hat hackers are criminals who break into computer networks with malicious intent. If you watch the news and keep up with technology, you know what a hacker is, but you may not realize hackers fall into different categories known as Black Hat, White Hat, and Gray Hat.
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