{"id":517,"date":"2023-04-12T07:28:42","date_gmt":"2023-04-12T07:28:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dataprot.net\/?p=517"},"modified":"2023-07-14T06:48:20","modified_gmt":"2023-07-14T06:48:20","slug":"who-are-cybercriminals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dataprot.net\/articles\/who-are-cybercriminals\/","title":{"rendered":"Who Are Cybercriminals? A Short Guide"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Cybercrime is as old as the internet itself.<\/strong> From leaking the private photos of celebrities to penetrating the computer systems of the CIA and Pentagon, cybercriminals have been causing severe damage for decades, and most of them were never brought to justice<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n They act individually or are organized into groups. So, who are cybercriminals?<\/strong> Let\u2019s take a closer look at who these people are<\/strong>, what they do<\/strong>, and learn how to recognize and protect yourself from potential attacks.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Cybercrime refers to criminal activity using computers or the internet<\/strong>. These illegal operations range from extortion to complete disruption of the computer systems<\/strong>, and hardly anyone is safe: cybercriminals target individuals, businesses, and governments<\/strong>. As computers and the internet became vital elements in everyday life, these attacks have become more common. Experts even predict that around 33 billion accounts will be breached in 2023<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s generally wise to work on prevention<\/strong> because the perpetrators are hard to identify once the attack happens. Investing in a reliable antivirus would be a great first step<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The stereotypical mysterious figure with a hoodie we can see in pop culture is usually a young, introverted man who spends most of his time in front of a computer. However, the actual demographics of cybercriminals are far more diverse<\/strong>. Cybercriminals come from various backgrounds and demographics all around the world<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Some of the most notorious attackers were teenagers<\/strong>, while others were people over forty. Although men dominate the cybercriminal world<\/strong>, some female hackers are just as impactful<\/strong>, such as Kim Vanvaeck, also known as Gigabyte. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Their motives are not always money<\/strong>. Many want to gain system access or corporate data at big companies<\/strong>. While sometimes the information they\u2019re after is used for crimes such as espionage<\/strong>, some of them simply want power<\/strong>, glory<\/strong>, and influence<\/strong>. Naturally, there are different types of computer crimes, and we\u2019ll discuss them later in the article. <\/p>\n\n\n\n These hackers have been building their reputation for decades. In the beginning, some only wanted to show off their skills<\/strong>, and many were \u2018hacktivists.\u2019<\/strong> A large number of them now have lucrative careers as IT experts or consultants<\/strong>. Let\u2019s see who they are and what they became famous for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There were many notorious active hacking groups, some of which still act today. Most of them have only become known after some of their members got arrested<\/strong>. The following are some of the most infamous hacking collectives. Working in groups makes it easier to organize attacks and cover tracks<\/strong>, so different types of cybercriminals often join forces in penetrating some of the world\u2019s most secure systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to many, this is one of the most impactful groups in the history of hacking<\/strong>. It is most well-known for publishing the Hacker manifesto<\/strong>, which set standards for hackers worldwide and greatly influenced hacking culture<\/strong>. The movie Hackers<\/a> broadly referenced this manifesto. Some of the original members were Unknown Soldier, Lex Luthor, and King Blotto.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Anonymous is perhaps the most famous hacking group today<\/strong>. Although they\u2019re very different from the Legion Of Doom, they enjoy a fair bit of popular support<\/strong>. Many people, however, consider them terrorists. Anonymous primarily targets politicians, governments, media outlets, and religious groups<\/strong>. They claim that their digital crimes are necessary to raise awareness of specific social justice issues. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The group launches attacks when they do not approve of political decisions or views of specific people or organizations<\/strong>. Anonymous mostly opt for DDoS (distributed denial-of-service) attacks, and they are decentralized with no clear command structure, making it harder for authorities to dismantle this group. By the time the victims report the online crime, they\u2019ve deleted their traces, and it is often too late to repair the damage. <\/p>\n\n\n\n One of the most influential Anonymous members was Hector \u2018Sabu\u2019 Monsegur, who was also one of the co-founders of LulzSec. This group cooperated with Anonymous several times and worked on its own for years, too. They were also involved with Julian Assange. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This was another legendary group from New York<\/strong>, mostly known for hacking the phone companies<\/strong>. They decided on the name Masters Of Deception as a parody of Legion of Doom. It is believed that they disapproved of the direction in which LOD went. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The group strongly advocated the idea that people need to earn their stripes. Those who joined were required to demonstrate their hacking skills. Many members got arrested by the FBI after hacking the phone companies<\/strong>. So who are the cybercriminals behind this group? The original members were Julio Fernandez, Paul Stira, John Lee, Mark Abene, and Elias Ladopoulos. <\/p>\n\n\n\n CCC is Europe\u2019s most prominent hacking organization. They believe in free access to computers for everyone and work on pushing the governments to be more transparent<\/strong>. They are not known for large-scale wars. Instead, the point of their attacks is to expose computer systems’ flaws so that people can be more educated on this matter. Notable members were Wau Holland, Bernd Fix, Tim Pritlove, and Harald Welte. <\/p>\n\n\n\nWhat is Cybercrime? <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Who Are Cybercriminals?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The Most Famous Hackers<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n
Famous Hacking Groups<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
The Legion Of Doom<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Anonymous<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Masters of Deception<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
The Chaos Computer Club <\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Lizard Squad<\/h4>\n\n\n\n