"Hacker", this word at once brings to our mind a radiant software
programmer with a craving to save mankind. There are a few varieties to
the list like Grey Hat, White Hat, Black Hat, Mules Herders etc.
A White Hat gets into networks with authorization, a Grey Hat works as a White Hat but may get into networks without permission for fun or profit, and a Black Hat enters networks without permission and is frequently paid. Script Kiddies are those starting out in the information security world, and Mules are recruited by Herders to acknowledge money looted during online frauds.
Topping the list are the hackers with political belief. Anonymous, is the most famous of such that uses hacker attacks to control governments and corporations to become more transparent. It was Anonymous that attacked the Web sites of Visa and MasterCard when they stopped accepting donations meant for Wikileaks' Julian Assange.
Hardly a year ago, Anonymous got into a scrap with an Indian company called Aiplex, specialising in anti-piracy operations. The company is hired by a variety of entertainment companies to go after sites from which you could download music or movies illegitimately.
The Office of His Holiness The Dalai Lama, the leader of the Tibetan Government-in-Exile in India at Dharamshala, is taught to resist most temptations, but the routine email is difficult to avoid. If an email from a known fellow Tibetan with an attachment "Translation of Freedom Movement ID Book for Tibetans in Exile.doc" arrives, there is no way The Dalai Lama's staff is not going to open it. They clicked on the attachment, opened it and brought plague upon themselves. It didn't take long to understand that most computers of the Tibetan Government-in-Exile were 'double agents'; functioning normally, but every now and then ferreting sensitive information out to their 'command and control' computers, most of which were in China. It all started the moment one of the monks clicked on a file, allowing a slimy software code to install itself on his computer and establish connections with computers in China. This malicious software malware would first locate important documents on the infected computer and upload them to its controllers, then try to spread itself further by sending infected emails to the contacts stored on the machine.
Kaspersky says, "Unfortunately, every system can be hacked. It is all about how many resources an attacker is willing to allocate for the attack, how many attackers are interested in attacking this victim. The level of risk is how interesting you are". High-grade, attacks have become mass market products.
The solution to it is breach disclosure laws that force companies to inform consumers or partners when their data is even assumed to be stolen, like in most states in the U.S. Failure to do so, frequently leads to a criminal investigation. The European Union too is close to bringing in a similar law.
In India, while Section 70 of the Information Technology Act makes CERT-IN, the nodal authority to receive reports of breaches, there is no pressure on companies to report breaches.
Shantanu Ghosh, head of Symantec India says, "We definitely need a breach law. Because only when you publicize breaches will companies take security seriously,"
But don't look forward to such parameter to go off up overnight. Because if it happens, the government itself could win the doubtful distinction of being the most-breached organization as there have been numerous attacks on government and public sector organizations.
Source: Siliconindia
Contact => www.facebook.com/ryan.manjothi
A White Hat gets into networks with authorization, a Grey Hat works as a White Hat but may get into networks without permission for fun or profit, and a Black Hat enters networks without permission and is frequently paid. Script Kiddies are those starting out in the information security world, and Mules are recruited by Herders to acknowledge money looted during online frauds.
Topping the list are the hackers with political belief. Anonymous, is the most famous of such that uses hacker attacks to control governments and corporations to become more transparent. It was Anonymous that attacked the Web sites of Visa and MasterCard when they stopped accepting donations meant for Wikileaks' Julian Assange.
Hardly a year ago, Anonymous got into a scrap with an Indian company called Aiplex, specialising in anti-piracy operations. The company is hired by a variety of entertainment companies to go after sites from which you could download music or movies illegitimately.
The Office of His Holiness The Dalai Lama, the leader of the Tibetan Government-in-Exile in India at Dharamshala, is taught to resist most temptations, but the routine email is difficult to avoid. If an email from a known fellow Tibetan with an attachment "Translation of Freedom Movement ID Book for Tibetans in Exile.doc" arrives, there is no way The Dalai Lama's staff is not going to open it. They clicked on the attachment, opened it and brought plague upon themselves. It didn't take long to understand that most computers of the Tibetan Government-in-Exile were 'double agents'; functioning normally, but every now and then ferreting sensitive information out to their 'command and control' computers, most of which were in China. It all started the moment one of the monks clicked on a file, allowing a slimy software code to install itself on his computer and establish connections with computers in China. This malicious software malware would first locate important documents on the infected computer and upload them to its controllers, then try to spread itself further by sending infected emails to the contacts stored on the machine.
Kaspersky says, "Unfortunately, every system can be hacked. It is all about how many resources an attacker is willing to allocate for the attack, how many attackers are interested in attacking this victim. The level of risk is how interesting you are". High-grade, attacks have become mass market products.
The solution to it is breach disclosure laws that force companies to inform consumers or partners when their data is even assumed to be stolen, like in most states in the U.S. Failure to do so, frequently leads to a criminal investigation. The European Union too is close to bringing in a similar law.
In India, while Section 70 of the Information Technology Act makes CERT-IN, the nodal authority to receive reports of breaches, there is no pressure on companies to report breaches.
Shantanu Ghosh, head of Symantec India says, "We definitely need a breach law. Because only when you publicize breaches will companies take security seriously,"
But don't look forward to such parameter to go off up overnight. Because if it happens, the government itself could win the doubtful distinction of being the most-breached organization as there have been numerous attacks on government and public sector organizations.
Source: Siliconindia
Contact => www.facebook.com/ryan.manjothi
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