There are basically three types of hackers. First kind of hackers is Ethical Hackers. These are also called white hat hackers. These hackers use their hacking skills for good cause. They work in companies to develop security tools and system. These hackers are also known as ethical hackers. Second kind of hackers is Cyber Criminal of Black hat hackers. These hackers break the security, try to get unauthorized access, steal passwords and involved in cyber-crimes. Third kind of hackers is Grey Hat hackers. These hackers behave like both ethical hackers and cyber criminals. They are sometimes good and sometimes bad.
But in general, whenever we use hacker word, instantly the image of second kind of hackers comes in mind. If you see the history of computer science, you will find the name of many hackers who impacted the world by their skills. Some hackers are well known for their security skills while others are known for their cyber-crimes. In this post, we are listing 5 most popular black hat hackers of all time. These hackers are known for their big cyber-crimes.
Learn: How To Be A Hacker
Top 5 infamous Hackers of All Time
1. Kevin Mitnick
Kevin Mitnick is the most popular hacker. U.S. Department of Justice called him the “most wanted computer criminal in U.S. history.” It is enough to say how infamous this person is. He was involved in various computer related crimes. Most of the times, he break the security by using Social Engineering attacks. At the age of 12, he bypassed the punchcard system used in the Los Angeles bus system. At 16, he gained unauthorized access of a computer network. He was also charged for hacking into DEC’s computer network and copying their software.
He was sentenced to 12 months in prison followed by 3 years of supervised release for his crimes. But near the end of supervised release, he hacked into Pacific Bell voice mail computers and became fugitive for two and a half years
Now, he is a full time cyber security consultant and runs Mitnick Security Consulting, LLC. He is also a well known public speaker for computer security.
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2. Jonathan James
Jonathan James was an American hacker. At age of 15, he committed many intrusions into various computer systems and networks. But he became most wanted when he intrude into the computers of Defense Threat Reduction Agency. He installed a sniffer into servers and gained passwords of DRTA employees.
He also hacked into NASA systems and downloaded the source code of the software. Downloaded assets equaled $1.7 million. When the intrusion was detected, NASA shutdown the computers for three weeks. NASA had to spend $41,000 to check and fix computer systems.
But the life of James has a tragic ending. In 2007, many companies faces network attacks and James was suspected for that. He always denied involvement and committed suicide in depression.
3. Gary Mckinnon
Gary Mckinnon aka SOLO is known for the largest military computer hack of all time. He also illegally gained access to computers of NASA and US Armed Forces. When he was caught, he said that he was only searching information related to UFO. But US authorities revealed that he deleted many critical files that caused the damage of $700,000.
4. Albert Gonzalez
Albert Gonzalez is an American computer hacker who is accused of credit card theft. He was charged for reselling more than 170 million cards and ATM numbers from 205 to 2007. This was the biggest fraud of the history.
He used SQL injection to deploy backdoor on corporate systems to launch packet sniffing attacks. He have thrown a $75,000 birthday party when he have broken the currency counting machine.
Gonzalez was sentenced to prison for 20 years. But there is a twist in this. He will face 2 sentences of 20 years to be served out simultaneously. He is in facing the first.
5. Robert Tappan Morris
Robert Tappan Morris is an American computer scientist. He is best know for creating a Morris Worm in 1988, that is considered as the first known computer worm. This worm exploited several vulnerabilities to gain entry into the target system. It was estimated that the loss caused by the worm and efforts to remove it ranged on each system from $200 to more than $53,000. In 1990, he was sentenced to three years of probation, 400 hours of community services and fine of $10,500.
In 1995, he co-founded Viaweb, a company that made software for building online stored. Later he received Ph.D in Applied Sciences from Harvard and then appointed as professor at MIT. It also co-founded Y Combinator, a seed stage startup funding firm.
