How do Black Hat Hackers Hack a System?

 

Who are Black Hat Hackers?

Black Hat Hackers are those who use their knowledge to hack computer systems for their own profit illegally.

How do Black Hat Hackers Hack a System?

Step-1: Information Gathering and Reconnaissance

Let's assume if a hacker is trying to hack a website, he gathers information like on which server the website is running, the programming language behind, user base and architecture of the website.

Step-2: Vulnerability Assessment

Vulnerabilities are nothing but security loopholes or weak entry points.

After Step-1, the hacker performs vulnerability scan using manual or automated tools. These tools run through the entire website and at the end, it gives a report of possible vulnerabilities. Meanwhile, the hacker also checks for bugs and errors on the website.

Step-3: Penetration testing and Gaining Access

Now after finding vulnerabilities in the Step-2, the hacker may exploit the vulnerabilities to gain access.

Step-4: Escalating Privileges and Maintaining Access

In this step, the hacker is partially inside the system. In this step, the hacker tries to gain full control of the system (Admin-level privileges). By gaining admin-level privileges, the hacker installs backdoors to the system.

Backdoor is a program that lets the hacker access the system any time as long as they are installed.

Step-5: Clearing tracks

After doing all the malicious activities in the system, the hacker deletes all server log files, deletes additional users created and reverts the server as it is before the hack.

In the next post, we will discuss how do white hat hackers or security experts hack a system. 

Remember, the only difference between white hat hackers and black hat hackers is their intention behind the hack.