Tags: essential knowledge, cybersecurity

What if I tell you that hackers exist outside the internet? Would it surprise you to discover the term “hacker” has several different meanings? After reading the article about hackers operting in the world wide web, you should already be aware that the darknet is also hosting script kiddies, hacktivists, and other players.

Now we aim to look further into what the term ‘hacker’ really means and introduce you to the different characters that can help not only make the world we live in better but also safer and more secure. We will introduce you to the new players in the space but first, let us look into pioneers of the past!



The Good Cops

Ethical or White Hat Hacker

A White Hat Hacker aims to find bugs in order to secure company from malefactors. One of the principal laws they must follow is that of responsible disclosure. Most white hat hackers you can find on bug bounty platforms such as Hacken Proof.

Growth Hacker

A Growth hacker uses analytical, ethical and original ways to exponentially grow their company’s customer base. What does a Growth Hacker do? They evaluate current marketing initiatives, set achievable goals, plan experiments to test the hypotheses in order to help the company run smoothly. In other words, growth hackers ‘hack’ marketing activities in order to achieve better results and also experiment until they find results that are statistically significant. Growth hackers operate within the marketing teams of almost every company sharing and documenting the results they find from their research.

Legal Hacker

A Legal Hacker is part of a global movement of lawyers and policymakers who develop original solutions to some of the gravest issues of law within the field of technology. Legal hackers, through local meetups and workshops, spot issues and opportunities where technology can enhance the practice of law and where legal practices should adapt to rapidly changing technology. These hackers inhabit IT companies or reside in usual offices (have you seen Suits?).

Transparency Hacker

A Transparency Hacker is any member of the crypto community who strives to make the industry evolve and become more transparent. The term was first introduced by Hacken to help describe the members of the CER team as they needed to seek external assistance in their mission to reveal the manipulations and unfair practices inherent within crypto exchanges. Working for CER, transparency hackers help to find the real balance on crypto exchanges: as they focus on finding hot and cold wallets to determine how much money exchange holds. Transparency hackers are ambassadors of truth and they know where to find the necessary information to disclose crypto and blockchain manipulations. We are still enrolling Transparency Hackers at CER, so if you think you have what it takes you can apply here!



The Bad Cops

Blackhat Hacker

A Blackhat Hacker is still widely known as just a ‘hacker’. These guys break systems, steal sensitive data and money, blackmail companies, and operate with criminal intentions. You should protect your systems against them as they are extremely dangerous! Blackhats live on the darknet, don’t go there if you are not confident in the protection you have.

Mining Hacker

You might think that it’s quite clear from the name that mining hackers are those who hack mining pools and you would be pretty much correct in your assumption! These hackers use your device’s power in order to mine currency. Dubbed as ‘crypto jacking’ this hacking leads to batteries being drained faster than normal and the overheating of your smartphone or laptop since the hackers are using the processor’s power whilst you are unaware. Today this method of hacking ranks among the top 10 malware attacks. Mining hackers are everywhere: they aim to infect your device with malware to add it to the botnet.

State/Nation Sponsored Hackers

State or Nation sponsored hackers are those who have been employed by their state or nation’s Government to snoop on and penetrate sensitive information. Why? They aim to gain confidential information from other governments to stay at the top. They have an endless budget and extremely advanced tools at their disposal to target individuals, companies or rival nations. According to American movies, nation sponsored hackers are siting in dark smoky apartments having only a laptop in their possession.

Patent Hackers

Patent hackers are malevolent players of the innovation world who combine the evil characteristics of grey hackers and conventional thieves. These people find new projects and remarkable plans and patent them before the owners get the chance! Yes, they simply take the credit for other people’s ideas and then blackmail the original founders, requesting huge sums of money. You can meet these quite nasty guys whenever on the web you introduce your idea!

Summing Up

Now you know that the word hacker is not limited to web players but there are hackers in other industries including marketing, law, and politics. It is important to note that all people benefit our society. Yes, even the bad cops help us to become smarter, stronger, and more sensible.

However, only the good guys receive the perks!

P.S. Comment below what types of hackers you know!

Read also

What is White Hat Hacker? Interview with Hacken’s Chief Cybersecurity Officer

Three Simple Steps of How to Become a White Hat Hacker

50 Shades Of Hacking: the Types of Hackers. Part 1