Definition of hacking
Hacking is a set of actions to identify and then exploit vulnerabilities in a computer system or network, usually in order to gain unauthorized access to user or company data. Hacking is not always the result of malicious actions, but the term itself has acquired a negative connotation due to its frequent use in the context of cybercrime.

How does hacking work?
How do hackers break in? They use various methods to achieve their goals. The most common ones are listed below.

Social engineering

Social engineering is a manipulation method based on using user errors to gain access to personal information. Hiding behind other people's names and using various psychological tricks, attackers can deceive into revealing personal or financial information. Phishing, email or instant messaging spam, and fake websites can be used for this purpose.

Password Hacking

Attackers use different ways to get passwords. Password matching is a method in which all possible combinations of characters are searched in order to guess the password and gain access. Attackers can also use simple algorithms to generate various combinations of letters, numbers and symbols to select a password. The other method is called a dictionary attack. It is a program that substitutes common words in the password field in search of a suitable one.

Malware infection of devices

Attackers can infiltrate a user's device and install malware on it. Attacks are most often carried out through email, instant messaging, websites with downloadable content, or a file sharing network.

Using insecure wireless networks

Instead of using malicious code to infiltrate a user's computer, attackers can simply use open wireless networks. Not all users protect their routers, which is what attackers use, who are constantly looking for open unsecured wireless connections. This process is called wardriving. When connecting to an unsecured network, attackers only need to bypass basic protection to gain access to devices connected to this network.

Access workarounds

Attackers develop programs to find unsecured ways to access network systems and computers. For example, they can infect a computer or system with a Trojan created specifically to access and steal important data without the victim's knowledge.

E-mail interception

Attackers can create code that allows them to intercept and read emails. Most modern email programs use encryption. This means that even if the message is intercepted, attackers will not be able to read it.

Key press tracking

Some programs allow attackers to track every keystroke by a computer user. After installation on the victim's computer, such programs record every keystroke, which provides attackers with all the data necessary to enter the system and steal personal data.

Creating Zombie computers

A zombie computer or bot is a computer that attackers can use to send spam or carry out distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks. After the user runs a seemingly harmless code, a connection is established between his computer and the attackers' system, which allows attackers to control the user's computer and commit crimes or send spam from this computer without his knowledge.

What kind of damage can hacking cause?
Hacking a cybersecurity system can cause real chaos. Whatever technique the attackers use, once they gain access to your data or devices, they can:

Steal your money and open credit cards and bank accounts in your name.
Ruin your credit score.
Request personal identification numbers (pins) for a new account or additional credit cards.
Make purchases on your behalf.
Add your name or alias as an authorized user to simplify the use of your credit data.
Get a cash loan.
Use your Social Security number.
Sell your information to others who may use it for malicious purposes.
Delete or damage important files on your computer.
Obtain confidential personal information and distribute it or threaten to publicly disclose it.
What is the purpose of hacking?
Who are hackers and for what purpose do they commit hacking? The motives for hacking may be different. The most common ones are listed below.

Finance

The main motive is often financial gain. Attackers can earn money by stealing passwords, gaining access to bank information or credit card data, stealing data for ransom demands or selling it to other attackers on the darknet.

Corporate espionage

Sometimes the goal of intruders is to steal trade secrets from competing companies. Corporate espionage is hacking in order to gain access to classified data or intellectual property in order to achieve competitive advantages.

Political espionage

States may use the services of intruders for political purposes, such as stealing classified data, interfering in elections, accessing government or military documents, or attempting to cause political unrest.

Revenge

Sometimes attackers are driven by anger – the desire to take revenge on people or companies that, in their opinion, have caused them any harm.

Hacktivism

Hacking can be a form of civil disobedience. Some hackers use their skills to promote a particular political program or social movement.

Confession

One of the motives of hackers may be the struggle for recognition and satisfaction from achieving goals, that is, from "hacking the system". Hackers can compete by challenging each other and getting recognition for their achievements, and social media allows them to brag about their successes.

Strengthening the security system

Not all hacking cases are malicious. There is a type of hacking that helps to improve the protection of systems. For example, penetration testing is conducted to check for vulnerabilities in order to increase security for all users. This type of hacking is considered ethical.

A frustrated computer user, realizing that he had been hacked
The history of hacking
Nowadays, the term "hacking" has mostly a negative connotation, but it wasn't always like that. At the dawn of the computer age, hackers were considered experts in the field of technology, and their main motivation was to set up and optimize systems. With the development of cybercrime, the increasing complexity and widespread use of hacker attacks, the term "hacking" has become mainly associated with malicious actions. Let's briefly recall the history of hacking.

The 1960s

The term "hacking" comes from the MIT Technical Model Railroad Club. Members of the club "hacked" their own high-tech trains in order to change their functions. Later, they moved from toy trains to computers, experimenting with the IBM 704 and trying to expand the set of tasks that computers could perform. Early hackers explored, expanded, and tested the limitations of existing programs. Their efforts often paid off, as they created programs that worked better than existing ones.

The 1970s

Computer hacking continued into the 1970s, but phone hacking began to develop in parallel. Telephone scammers, also called phreakers, have tried to exploit the performance characteristics of the telephone switching network, which has recently become completely electronic. John Draper became famous when he discovered that a toy whistle found in Cap'n Crunch flakes makes a sound exactly the same as the sound indicating to long lines that the line is ready and available to route a new call (2600 hertz). This allowed phone scammers to cheat the network and make free long-distance calls. It was also reported that Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak were phone scammers before they founded one of the most successful computer companies in the world.

The 1980s

In the 1980s, the use of personal computers was no longer limited to enterprises and universities - their accessibility to the public increased, which led to a significant increase in the number of computer hacking cases. The nature of the hacking has also changed. Previously, hacking was often caused by attempts to improve computer performance, but the new generation of hackers was primarily motivated by personal gain, and their actions included the creation of pirated programs, viruses and hacking systems to steal information. Law enforcement agencies have realized a new reality, and a federal law on combating computer fraud and Abuse has been adopted in the United States.

The 1990s

As a result of the disclosure of several high-profile cybercrimes and arrests, hacking gained a negative reputation in the 1990s. Among the famous hackers of this decade were Kevin Mitnick, Kevin Poulsen, Robert Morris and Vladimir Levin; they were convicted of various crimes: from stealing copyrighted software and defrauding radio stations in order to win expensive cars to launching the first computer worm and committing the first digital bank robbery.

The 2000s

Government agencies and large corporations have increasingly been hacked into cybersecurity systems. The most famous of them are Microsoft, eBay, Yahoo! and Amazon. All of them were victims of distributed denial of service attacks. It is known that the systems of the US Department of Defense and the International Space Station were hacked by a 15-year-old teenager.