Cybercriminals are the advent of the information age. You didn’t have cybercriminals in 1970s when the internet was just a few Ivy League colleges connected by wire. They came about because of the ease of access it provided people. The internet creates opportunity for everyone and these criminals look at the opportunities from an alternate angle which a normal person does not see.
The definition of a cybercriminal
A person who engages in illegal activity online/on the internet.
Illegal activities cybercriminals might engage in
- Phishing attacks
- Malware attacks
- DDoS attacks
- Hacking
- Identity theft
- Cyberstalking and harassment
- Data breaches
- Money laundering
Here is an article on how to protect your information online.
How a Hacker is different
Not all hackers commit crimes. Only Grey Hat and Black Hat hackers do.
There are three types of hackers
- White Hat
White Hat hackers are hackers people who find imperfections in a companies security and report it back to them to fix it. They get paid for these type of services.
- Grey Hat
Grey Hat hackers are criminals who aren’t necessarily looking for a flaw in a system they have just stumbled upon kink in the chain and will use it for their benefit. But because they sometime they help out companies and governments they are considered in between the two.
- Black Hat
Black Hat hackers are criminals who find look for any exploit in a system and use it against the person they found an exploit of to gain a profit.
So its easy to say that some hackers are cybercriminals and some cybercriminals are hackers but being one doesn’t mean they are they other.
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