A New Breed of Hacker

An interesting development seems to have taken place in the world of Internet security over the last few months.

Back in the early days of the web hackers were mainly script kiddies and other individuals or small groups out to prove a point.

The threats and the risks increased when organised crime realised there was big money in online hacking activities and brought their considerable financial and organisational skills to the arena.

We have also seen nation states allegedly taking part with coordinated attacks designed to access or infiltrate the systems of other countries, either for political or commercial reasons.

Then there was the "hacktivists" - people out to cause disruption or protest against certain companies, beliefs or activities.

But over the last few months we have seen a new form of "hacktivist". One that takes on a scary new role.

These new style groups which include Anonymous/4Chan and LulzSec have a number of similar attributes They are:

Almost anarchistic
Anti-establishment
Competitive with each other
Loosely organised
Democratic
Ego driven
Out to prove they can "do it"
Bordering on the mercenary

They are however having one positive effect - they are making the issue of web and Internet security front page news across the world.

Ultimately this could prove to be their primary motivation - only time will tell.

In the meantime, their indiscriminate attacks need to be thwarted so take a long hard look at your website and ask yourself "is my security up to scratch?"

If it isn't or you're not sure seek expert advice and get some protection before you become a target.

For more information on website security contact Secure Thinking on 0845 071 4690 or visit http://www.SecureThinking.co.uk