Do hackers choose their targets?

Cybercrime is on the rise, and many businesses and governments are affected by the outcome. As the number of attacks rise, we want to know how the hackers or infiltrators get to work on their targets. Each cyberattack highlights the vulnerabilities that organisations have and how different each hacker is. To understand the choice in businesses or organisations that hackers pick, one has to know what form of hacking they use and the reason they use them.

There is a multitude of varieties of hackers, the first is a hacktivist. This form of hacker only hacks organisations to uncover and bring to light certain issues that they have. They hack companies and organisations such as ISIS, anti-transgender laws and anti-gay rights companies. Hacktivist hack companies that go against their own personal beliefs.

The hack on Verkada is an example of a hacktivist attack, as they hacked internet connected video cameras to showcase how easy it is to access private data, it also showcased that government institutions hid cameras from people to observe them without their consent. The reason behind the hack was based on the ideology of the Swiss hacking group.

Another type of hacker is one after financial gain. This form of hacking is solely based on receiving money for the information that is hacked. These hackers implement phishing schemes to steal money from the individuals. They send the phishing links through emails to individuals or companies that have minimal email security in place. An example of these emails are people offering individuals money, or they need you to pay a certain amount for a parcel that you won.

They also operate hacks through ransomware, this is when the hackers infiltrate a business, encrypt their data and databases. After the completion of the encryption, they then hold the data for ransom from the company. These attacks are created to reach as many victims as possible. These hackers want to receive the most money out of their hack. An example of a ransomware attack is the Kesaya attack, the Colonial pipeline attack, the hackers encrypted the data and asked ransom to remove their encryption from the data and databases.

These profit hackers also implement spear phishing, this form of hacking is created for an individual group, company, or organisation. This form of infiltration is crafted to persuade the recipient that the sender is someone they know and that they can trust the email, an example is a phishing email from your bank, or any service provider that you use. This form of hack is harder to resist and it can lead to larger loss to the individual. These emails usually contain links or attachments that have the malware or cyber threat that damages your databases and devices through encryption. They encrypt your devices, and they ask ransom to remove the malware.

A weak mail security solution enables hackers to assess your systems and infiltrate it in hacking methods that will affect at least one individual.

Another form of hacker is a state-sponsored operative. This form of hacking is performed through a specific government. These attacks are based on political motivation, and they hire hackers as freelancers. Yet, they can also perform hacks for financial gain. The financial gain is either personal or to fill the country’s coffers. The political hacks are also used to gain access to classified data that is useful to a country.

Hackers come in all shapes and sizes. They target businesses that will offer them the most, as they are out to gain something from the hack, either justice for a cause, money or political data. Hackers target any sized company, they go for large enterprises, or they can even infiltrate small businesses. Cyber criminals infiltrate a multitude of organisations as they want to reach as many victims as possible.

The motivation behind each hacker is different, as they as individuals have their own reason for the hack. The person determines the organisation. Hackers that are out for financial gain often hack companies that are known for their wealth. The infiltration process is created to reach multiple users, they infiltrate emails or customer directories to broaden their reach. They use different techniques to lure people in to giving their private information, or they encrypt the data and hold it for ransom.

The hackers choose targets that will pay the ransom and not disclose any of the information to the public. These organisations want to protect their public brand, and they know the damage that a hack can have on their profits. To prevent a negative view on their brand reputation and the total price that they paid for the ransom to the hackers they hide by paying in different currencies, the currency is currently in Bitcoin or any form of cryptocurrency.

When hackers go after money they infiltrate a multitude of organisations and take a small amount, they take amounts that will go unnoticed by the organisations. The more organisations that they hit, the more financial gain they reach. They infiltrate a multitude of businesses big and small at once to gain the most financial resources.

Ideological attacks are different, these attacks are based on human nature and a person’s personal beliefs. To uncover the type of organisations is difficult as each hacker has their own beliefs. These hackers infiltrate organisations that have wronged them personally. These attacks are created to bring certain topic or information to light that the organisations do not want the public to know.

Hackers will go for organisations that are not well defended. The methods of any cyberattack has highlighted that hackers are lazy, and they take the easy way out, they do not create unique zero-day attacks for organisations they simply use attack methods that have been used in the past.

Infiltrators have access to analysing and scanning tools, they use these tools to uncover which organisation is an easy target. They uncover access routes that they can use to encrypt business data, or take data or resources from. Each attack is crafted to reach a bigger audience.

At Secured Enterprise, we implement tailored cybersecurity solutions that include penetration testing. We test our security solutions to discover any vulnerabilities and implement solutions that safeguard organisations from any form of infiltrations. Protect your business data and resources with a reliable and trusted cybersecurity partner.

We utilise best practices and state-of-the-art technology to enhance our protection capabilities. Our skilled support staff is available 24/7, and they monitor all our clients’ solution for a proactive protection advantage. We strive in prioritizing the protection of your privacy and data.