A Hacker s Profile

A Hacker's Profile

A lot of people still have some odd notions about who hackers are. The stereotypical hacker is seen as young, male, intensely brilliant, and pathologically antisocial. He's often manic working straight through the night on the latest dazzling tool. Of course, he adds to that frenzy by chain-smoking, scarfing junk food, and indulging in the occasional recreational pharmaceutical.

Get real! A genuine hacker is just as likely to be a frustrated accountant, petty bureaucrat, or recently fired data-entry clerk. For all the technical skills involved, he may turn out to be a high school dropout. Contrary to the popular myth of the brilliant hacker, the truth is that it just isn't that difficult. We all heard about kids breaking into computers in the 1970s. Did you ever hear about any of those kids getting into Harvard or MIT?

You can also forget about the woefully wronged programmer battling the great corporate injustice. It's great Hollywood fodder, but has little or no basis in reality. Too often, real life simply isn't that exciting.

The Real Hackers

Now that you know what a hacker doesn't look like, you're probably wondering what he does look like. Truth is, a lot of hackers look pretty much like you, or me, or the woman in the office next to you.

Just for some reference though, let's have a look at the most common types of hacker.

Fugitive Hacker #1: The Disgruntled Employee

This hacker is hardest to locate, but by far the most common. He's probably worked for your company for a while, maybe even years. It's also likely that he's been recently fired or downsized. His technical skills may vary from simple data entry to systems analysis. He may have left back doors in a system he managed recently. Or he may simply have easy access to your network because it's his job to update or maintain restricted information. In any case, you probably have no reason at all to suspect him.

Fugitive Hacker #2: The Industrial Spy

Contrary to the Hollywood image, most spies don't really look like James Bond. They're actually more likely to look like your dad's accountant or the president of your local Chamber of Commerce. This hacker has eons of experience in your industry. He may work for a competing company or even a competing country. (Many industrial spies work with at least the tacit approval of their governments. Some are even employees of those governments.) He may even be one of your own employees thinking about jumping ship or anticipating a big layoff. Maybe he wants some extra "marketability" to take with him to that elusive next position.

Fugitive Hacker #3: The Lone Sociopath

OK, so there are a few of these out there. This hacker is probably pretty close to what you imagine. He's young, brilliant, and most likely either a student or recent graduate still looking for direction. By far though, this hacker is the one you're most unlikely to meet in a dark database.

Fugitive Hacker #4: The Hacktivist

This is the newest and most frightening category of computer criminal. The hacktivist considers himself a political activist, reformer, or even soldier. Some go as far as to align themselves with terrorist groups identified by such monikers as cyber-jihad, G-Force Pakistan, and Doktor Nuker. Others pursue lone political agendas using logic no less obtuse and convoluted than that employed by the Unabomber. Most often, this category is associated with young men having close ties to politically volatile regions like the Middle East or eastern Europe. Generally bright, many of these hackers actually learned their computer skills in the United States. Some, in fact may still be here, supporting corporate networks by day, attacking political targets at night. Hacktivist attacks range from embarrassing their targets via Web site defacements to outright economic sabotage.

Obviously, this category includes frustrated idealists as well as religious zealots. Hacktivism isn't limited to the usual suspects, however. Extremists of all stripes may become hacktivists. Some examples include radical animal-rights advocates and extreme environmentalists. The possibilities include nearly anyone with an agenda and network access. Indeed, the greatest threats may actually come from loners (like the Unabomber) with agendas important to themselves, countries, or terrorist organizations.

About Those Tools

Now that you know what a hacker really looks like (like nearly everybody else!), you're probably wondering about the background that he needs to get the job done. Unfortunately, not much.

Hackers use various tools to break into systems and cover their tracks to escape detection. The myth of the brilliant hacker no doubt started because the tools of the trade really are some exceptional pieces of code. Few hackers actually write the code for the tools that they use, however. Most are foot soldiers who simply gather the tools that they need from public sources. How public? A quick tour of the Internet will show you just how easily many hacker tools can be obtained. Now, add to that all the stuff that's available in the underground. All one needs is an "in" to a hacker bulletin board and access to other hackers to be constantly supplied with the latest and greatest tools for finding and stealing data. It's like a club one hacker passes on the tools that he finds to other hackers who pass them on to other hackers, and so on. And the more tools a hacker has, the easier it is for him to break into your systems.