Difference between revisions of "Cybercriminals"

Revision as of 10:02, 9 December 2010

The term cybercriminal is used to refer to any person(s) using computers and the internet as a means to commit crimes. Just as the term criminal can be applied to the those who commit various crimes ranging from a person that receives a speeding ticket to someone who commits armed robbery. Cybercrimes can range from harassment to piracy, or even cyberwarfare.

Three of the most common groups of cybercriminals are black hats, what are known as script kiddies, and then there are casual pirates. Depending on one's perspective of the user, they may apply to more than one of the groups listed.

Listed below are a few of the multiple groups and sub-groups of cybercriminals that exist.

Black Hats

Black hats are a subculture of hackers who are seen as villains in computer culture. They are someone who breaks into computers or networks without authorization and with malicious intent. Black hats may also share their exploits with other hackers or the public without notifying the victim. Black hats are often our virus writers, commiters of credit card fraud, identity theft, vandalism, and other various computer crimes

Script Kiddies

Also known as skids, skiddies, and other "cutesy" monikers these are people who have the same motivations as black hats but are not as technological literate as their hacker counterparts. Script kiddies will use scripts or programs to exploit weaknesses discovered by others. The term script kiddie comes from their heavy reliance on scripts and the vast majority being underage.

Casual Pirate

The casual pirate is a casual computer user who may also be interpreted as a cybercriminal. Usually a novice computer user who participates in the illegal downloading of music, movies, video games, and software. These users are seldom a harm to computer security but they do engage in theft via internet piracy and are classified as cybercriminals for that reason.