Hacking works through a variety of techniques and methods, depending on the hacker’s goals and objectives. Here is a simplified overview of how hacking works:
- Reconnaissance: Hackers gather information about their target, such as IP addresses, domain names, employee names, email addresses, and many other relevant data.
This phase often involves passive information gathering through sources such as social media, company websites, and public records & many more. - Scanning: In this phase, hackers actively probe the target’s systems and networks to identify potential vulnerabilities. They may use automated tools such as port scanners to find open ports, network mappers to find hosts, and vulnerability scanners to identify vulnerabilities in software or configuration very actively.
- Gaining access: Once vulnerabilities are identified, hackers attempt to exploit them to gain unauthorized access to the target system or network. This can involve a variety of techniques, such as exploiting software vulnerabilities (e.g.- buffer overflows), using stolen or guessed credentials (e.g.- through phishing or brute force attacks), or taking advantage of misconfigurations of user to steal the data/information.
- Maintaining access: After gaining access, hackers may take steps to maintain their presence on compromised systems or networks. This may include installing backdoors, rootkits, or other malicious software to ensure continued access even after the initial point of entry has been discovered and shut down & in this condition a hacker can work very effectively to gain their intension.
- Privilege escalation: In many cases, hackers seek to escalate their privileges on compromised systems to gain greater control and access to sensitive data or additional resources. This may include exploiting vulnerabilities in the operating system or other software, or taking advantage of misconfigurations to gain administrative or root-level access of users.
- Covering tracks: To avoid detection and accusation, hackers often attempt to cover their tracks by deleting log files, altering timestamps, or using other techniques to hide their activities. This can make it more difficult for security teams to identify and respond to intrusions and also to find out fraudster(hacker) for their crime attempt.
It is important to note that hacking can be illegal and unethical if done without proper authorization from any individual. On the other hand, ethical hackers follow strict guidelines and obtain explicit permission from the authorized body before conducting security assessments or penetration testing on any individual user or the organization.
Those who are very active on social media platform suppose to be very cautioned about revealing their personal information & accessing unknown or malicious sites pr aps or link to avoid stealing the informative data.
