Black Hat Hackers: Techniques, Tools, and Protection
Who Are Black Hat Hackers ?
Black Hat Hackers are individuals with malicious intentions who gain unauthorized access to computer networks and systems. Their primary goal is to exploit security vulnerabilities in software or corporate systems, often for financial gain—such as holding organizations to ransom or selling stolen data to third parties and other cyber criminals.
Black hat hackers are intent on stealing or destroying sensitive or private data, and disrupting or shutting down networks and websites, typically for personal profit.
How Do Black Hat Hackers Damage a System ?
There are different types of black hat hackers, ranging from individuals acting alone to those operating within large, highly profitable cyber crime organizations. Many black hat hackers started out as so-called "script kiddies," exploiting security vulnerabilities with basic tools before evolving their techniques to make quick money.
At the upper levels, skilled hackers work for sophisticated cyber crime organizations, which often operate similarly to legitimate businesses. These organizations have partners, resellers, and vendors, buying and selling malware licenses for use by other criminal groups worldwide.
Black hat hackers deploy a wide range of techniques to target and attack victims. Some hacks are quick and automated, using bots that roam the internet in search of unprotected devices and software vulnerabilities. Other attacks involve social engineering and highly sophisticated tactics, such as phishing attacks that spread malware through malicious links and attachments.
Black Hat vs Gray Hat vs White Hat
Black and white hat hackers—as well as gray hat, blue hat, and red hat hackers—are differentiated using terms inspired by old Western movies, which separated the good guys from the bad guys by the color of hat they wore. Villains wore black hats and the heroes wore white hats.
Legality and Ethics of Hacking Types
- White Hat: Only hacks for ethical reasons and does so using ethical means. They provide full transparency into their tools and methodology.
- Gray Hat: Consider themselves good guys, but may not tell an organization all they do to penetrate their system or ask for approval beforehand. They may also ask the owner to pay them to fix vulnerabilities they discover.
- Black Hat: Hack for personal gain or to exploit a system and break the law while doing so.
How To Survive a Black Hat Attack
Black hat hackers pose a major threat to organizations’ data, systems, networks, and users. However, there are security measures that businesses can implement to survive black hat hackers’ nefarious actions. These measures are regularly discussed by ethical hacking experts at Black Hat conferences.
Firewalls
Firewalls are crucial for protecting the perimeter of organizations’ networks. The Fortinet FortiGate next-generation firewalls (NGFWs) protect organizations from both internal and external cyber threats. They filter network traffic and provide deeper content inspection, identifying and blocking malware and advanced security risks.
The FortiWeb web application firewall (WAF) protects web applications from known and zero-day threats and uses machine learning to discover and block malicious activity.
Content Filters
Content filters act as gatekeepers for business users and can be configured to allow or prevent access to specific websites. This is crucial to preventing black hat hackers from leading victims to malicious websites or gaining an entry point into corporate networks.
Intrusion Prevention Systems (IPS)
Intrusion prevention systems (IPS) detect potential intrusions to networks or servers and take action to prevent them. Fortinet delivers IPS technology through its FortiGate platform, which is proven to protect from known and evolving security threats. It uses industry-leading intelligence from FortiGuard Labs to protect organizations from the latest risks in the security threat landscape.
Server Hardening
Server machines can run services that are not necessary for them to function and present a vulnerability that black hat hackers could exploit. For example, a mail server could run File Transfer Protocol (FTP) and a web server might run a Telnet service, which are both inherently insecure. These unnecessary services need to be removed to minimize the opportunities for hackers to exploit corporate systems.
Computer Use Policy
Organizations can strengthen their systems by imposing computer policies for their employees to follow. The security technology outlined above, such as content filters, IPS, and firewalls, implement rules that define computer usage policies. But a policy also needs to cover how employees are expected to use computers, email, and the internet, as well as the consequences of violating the policy.
Security Testing
Increasingly sophisticated black hat hackers are constantly searching for vulnerabilities that enable them to exploit corporate systems and steal sensitive data. Organizations must keep pace through ethical hacking, constantly monitoring their networks, and testing their systems for new vulnerabilities. This includes running regular penetration tests and vulnerability scans that identify and mitigate potential risks.
Employee Training
An organization is often only as secure as its employees allow it to be. Employees need to follow security best practices, such as the secure use of email and other online services. They should also receive regular cybersecurity training that advises on the signs of cyber attacks, information about the latest cyber risks, and reminders about the organization’s computer use policy and the consequences of a breach.
Conclusion
In conclusion, black hat hackers pose a significant threat to organizations, but by implementing robust security measures, conducting regular training, and fostering a culture of security awareness, businesses can better protect themselves against these malicious actors. Staying informed about the latest threats and continuously improving security practices is essential in the ever-evolving landscape of cybersecurity.
Happy Learning! 🚀