Some common reasons for hacking include basic bragging rights, curiosity, revenge, boredom, challenge, theft for financial gain, sabotage, vandalism, corporate espionage, blackmail, and extortion. Hackers are known to regularly cite these reasons to explain their behavior.
Why do people hack? The biggest motivation is often financial gain. Hackers can make money by stealing your passwords, accessing your bank or credit card details, holding your information to ransom, or selling your data to other hackers or on the dark web.
Phishing is one of the most common ways that hackers gain access to other people's login data. Phishing emails often contain links that lead to fake websites designed to trick you into entering your password.
Data theft is the end goal for numerous attacks, with hackers seeking predominantly personal data, credentials, and credit card information. In order to steal this data, hackers compromise online platforms such as bookings sites, social media sites and e-commerce websites.
Unfortunately, some attackers want to steal your data just to prove that they can. They are not motivated by monetary gain, access to free resources or the ability to steal your users' identities. They simply want to prove to themselves – and their hacker friends, perhaps – that they can break past your defenses.
Phones are particularly tempting targets for hackers because these devices usually have access to a huge amount of user data, from banking information to social media passwords. Hackers are always eager to infect your device with malware and trojans.
Malware. Malware is the most common of all hacking techniques. One anti-malware provider describes it as any “code developed by cyber-attackers, designed to cause extensive damage to data and systems or to gain unauthorised access to a network.”
Viruses and Trojans
Viruses or Trojans are malicious software programs that, when installed on your computer, will send your data to the hacker. They can also lock your files, spread to all the computers connected to your network, and perform many other nasty actions.
Social media: Hackers can build a profile on someone simply by studying their public social media profiles. These profiles often include the person's name, workplace, names of relatives and friends, birthdate, etc. A common form of hacking includes the impersonation of someone they have profiled.
Following an attack, many will turn to hacker's forums to brag about their exploits and this often provides police with the vital clues they need to start identifying the person responsible.
Be careful what you click on.
Impulsive online behavior like shopping, downloading music, and obsessive email use are tied to higher rates of falling victim to hacking, a study from Michigan State University published on this week shows.
How many people get hacked a year? There isn't concise data on how many people get hacked a year. However, considering there are around 2,200 cyberattacks per day, that could equate to more than 800,000 people being hacked per year.
Hackers fall into three general categories: black hat hackers, white hat hackers, and gray hat hackers. Although hackers are often associated with exploiting vulnerabilities to gain unauthorized access to computers, systems, or networks, not all hacking is malicious or illegal.
Yes, a person can hack your screen. This is true about phones, computers, and tablets. If your device has a screen, there is a possibility that it can be hacked.
Hackers steal your passwords through a variety of methods including data breaches, password cracking, guessing, physical theft and malware. This can have serious consequences, especially if the hackers gain access to your accounts, but there are ways to protect yourself.
Hackers love nothing more than finding vulnerabilities in your system. These weak spots can be exploited to gain access to sensitive data or wreak havoc on your network.
Black hat hackers pose the most risk to organizations, which they typically target to steal sensitive data that can compromise a business financially.
It has been observed that countries with the most advanced technology and digitally connected infrastructure produce the best hackers. China and USA are clear examples of digitally advanced nations which both deploy tools and specialists for intelligence gathering, and for the protection of their national interests.
Through public Wi-Fi networks: Cybercriminals create fake Wi-Fi networks, and when you connect to them with your phone, they redirect you to malicious sites. SIM swaps: Hackers transfer your phone number to their device and gain access to your account. To avoid this situation, you must know how to avoid SIM swapping.
Step 1: Change your passwords
On accounts or devices that contain sensitive information, make sure your password is strong, unique—and not easily guessable. Adding your birthday to your mother's maiden name won't cut it.
If a hacker installs spyware on your phone then there is a good chance they will be able to access your camera and turn it on/off as they please. They may also be able to access any photos or videos you have previously taken.
Fun. A lot of hackers will tell you that breaking into a secure system is an enjoyable hobby that tests their knowledge and skills. For these people, the only motivation is to gain some experience and have some fun.