The threat landscape is constantly changing and organisations are always looking for ways to stop attackers from threatening our online safety.  There are three main types of online attacks. These attacks would be that from malicious hackers, other hackers who are referred to as “hacktivists” who protest or rebel against the system, and your own government. Here are more detailed explanations about the three types of online attacks:

 

1. Malicious Hackers

Hackers are most often motivated by financial gain and want the most amount of return they can get for the amount of effort they put in. One would think that a small business is not at risk to such attacks, but this is not true. Targeting small businesses is more successful for these hackers because of the lack of security protocols in their business.

2. Hacktivists

Hacktivists fight for the freedom of expression, the defence of human rights and the total unwillingness to any form of surveillance and control. The information they extract and post on WikiLeaks does hurt governments, but intended to be for the greater good.

3. Government organisations

When it comes to protecting sensitive data, government agencies store highly sensitive data that could be lucrative in the hands of criminals. It’s hard to know how long law enforcement agencies have been hacking citizens as part of their investigations and even harder to know exactly what tools they’ve been using. But they are definitely using them.

 

Given the above definitions, it could possibly be argued that hacking can for the most part be used for good. With that, though, comes another set of risks. If hacking is used for ethical reasons, it will certainly be used for criminal reasons too by unethical people. An individual’s privacy is a human right that should not be ignored with the progress that has been made in recent times.