Hacking has always been viewed as criminal behavior. Essentially, hackers will facilitate the intrusion into a network. However, white hat hackers can be used to help companies find vulnerabilities and improve their cybersecurity.
Unfortunately, not all skilled people will use their abilities for good. This is where the term black hat hacker comes from.
What Is Black Hat Hacking?
Black hat hacking refers to the intrusion into an IT system for malicious reasons. These are the bad guys you imagine hacking into mainframes on TV. However, it’s less entertaining in reality.
Black hat hacking makes use of ransomware, malware, and other tactics to break through a system’s defenses. The black hat hackers can then access, steal, and leverage the data found. Some of their techniques involve social engineering, botnets, DDoS attacks, spyware, and more.
The data is usually sold on the dark web, used to extort a ransom, or simply destroyed. Hacking has become a global issue as technology evolved. The tools and techniques used in black hat hacking have become sophisticated and difficult to detect – let alone defend against.
Who are Black Hat Hackers?
While these hackers are criminals, they are also highly skilled individuals. Black hat hackers use their knowledge and skill sets to exploit security vulnerabilities. These hackers have malicious intentions. These can range from financial gain and personal vendettas to political motivations and simply destructive chaos. These black hat hackers can work alone or be part of a larger hacking group. There are multiple large and organized black hat hacking groups in existence already. Some of these groups offer their skills as Ransomware-as-a-Service.
While these hackers have honed their skills, many of them start as “script kiddies.” These are novice hackers that use the scripts and tools of others to launch small-scale cyber-attacks. However, the younger generation is exactly where the focus is for most hackers looking to recruit. The increase in RaaS – Ransomware As A Service, less awareness of cybersecurity gives them easy access to vulnerabilities and commit a cybercrime.
Cryptocurrency Encourages Black Hat Hacking
Cryptocurrency has taken the world by storm since its arrival. The virtual currency had companies like Bitcoin, Cardano, and Ethereum creating “tokens” that could be easily traded or used online.
While the main attraction to cryptocurrency was its discreet and protected nature, it soon became a medium of choice for hackers as well. Ransomware attacks could be easily facilitated with the use of cryptocurrency as a secure and anonymous channel for ransoms and payments online.
The hype around cryptocurrency has been greatly escalated by Gen Z. A recent study showed that 94% of all cryptocurrency buyers are Gen Z or Millennials ranging from 18 to 40 years old. The connection between cyber criminals and Gen Z making use of cryptocurrency is enough to establish a direct influence on the younger generations being pushed towards scoring easy crypto cash-ins through cyber-attacks. While cryptocurrency itself cannot be blamed, it is part of the tools that enable ransomware and cyber-attacks in the modern age.
Cyber-Attacks Through Black Hat Hacking Methods
Usually the enterprise business are on the radar of black hat hackers. That’s why businesses choose cybersecurity measures to stay safe. They also recruit white hat hackers who can do certain kinds of tests that can find out existing vulnerabilities within the organizations. You can find out the differences between white hat hacking and black hat hacking in this article. Black hat hacking is used to carry out all the malicious cyber-attacks you know of. Some of the main black hat hacking methods and cyber-attacks they’ve made possible recently include:
Ransomware Attacks
These are attacks in which a company or person’s system is infiltrated and data is extracted. That data is then used as leverage to force the user to pay a ransom amount. The data is either threatened with being exposed or destroyed.
According to Statista, there were 236.1 million ransomware attacks worldwide during the first half of 2022 alone. One of the biggest ransomware attacks to date is the WannaCry ransomware that exploded onto the scene in May 2017.
WannaCry infected at least 75,000 computers across 99 countries - affecting hospitals and businesses alike. The ransomware targeted computers using Microsoft Windows as an operating system and encrypted essential data then extorted payments in the form of Bitcoin for its return.
The ransomware hit around 230,000 computers globally. In 2018, the WannaCry malware also hit Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing – the world’s largest contract chipmaker.
Phishing Scams
A phishing scam is any cyber-attack in which a hacker attempts to deceive the victim through the use of fraudulent emails or correspondence. While the message might look authentic, it contains links or attachments with malware inside. Once the link is clicked or the attachment is downloaded, the malware enters the system and gains access to everything inside.
In 2022, communications company Twilio was the victim of a cyber-attack that used a phishing scam to infiltrate the system. A text message baited and redirected employees toward a fake website that resembled Twilio’s real authentication site.
The site then asked for the employee credentials which gave the hackers the information to gain insider access to internal company resources and customer data. The fake URLs contained "Twilio," "Okta," and "SSO" keywords. The access compromised 93 Authy accounts and potentially exposed 1,900 accounts on the encrypted communication app Signal.
Data Breaches
A data breach is a cyber-attack that compromises the data and files of clients and companies. According to Statista, approximately 15 million data records were exposed worldwide through data breaches in 2022.
In September 2022, Capital One was given a class action settlement of US$ 190 million after a data breach in 2019 exposed the personal information of more than 100 million people and resulted in the theft of social security numbers and bank account details. Paige Thompson, a former systems engineer at Amazon Web Services, was behind the breach. Using a self-made tool to detect misconfigured AWS accounts, she used one of those accounts to hack into the systems of more than 30 organizations - including Capital One. According to her indictment, Thompson used the access she gained to steal data while “mining” cryptocurrency with the stolen computer power through crypto-jacking.
How to Protect Businesses from Black Hat Hacking
Black hat hackers make use of various tools and techniques to gain access to your systems and the only way to protect yourself is to invest in advanced tools and techniques of your own.
Sangfor Technologies is a world-class cybersecurity and cloud computing company that offers intensive, integrated, and intelligent platforms and products that will keep any black hat hacker at bay.
Invest in Sangfor’s impressive Anti-Ransomware prevention and state-of-the-art IT infrastructure for a secure, efficient, and targeted approach to your cybersecurity.
Sangfor’s advanced Next Generation Firewall (NGFW) can be used to identify malicious files at both the network level and endpoints. The advanced firewall is a security device designed to inspect network and application traffic for threats, secure the network environment from intrusion, and bring in security intelligence from outside the network.
Additionally, the Sangfor Cyber Command platform then monitors for malware, residual security events, and future potential compromises in your network and is coupled with an enhanced AI algorithm and threat intelligence – ensuring your data is always kept strictly protected and consistently monitored for lingering threats.
Lastly, Sangfor’s powerful Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) solution is used to go beyond traditional antivirus and anti-malware software. Endpoint Secure provides integrated protection against malware infections and APT breaches across your entire organization's network – all with ease of management,
For more information on Sangfor’s cybersecurity and cloud computing solutions, visit www.sangfor.com.
