In addition to social engineering, covered in the article Cybersecurity: the best attack is defense - Free Mind Foundry, when talking about intrusion it is also appropriate to mention hacking.
What are the origins of hacking?
Hacking has its roots in MIT, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, within which there were several clubs aimed at studying computer science. Hacking does not in itself have a negative meaning, unlike beliefs, in fact the aim of these groups was to enter the mechanisms and computer systems in order to improve them. An activity conceived for pure fun and the profound passion of all those who collaborated to give their contribution to research and development. Unfortunately, these skills, once acquired, have not always proved to be useful tools for benevolent purposes in the hands of honest people.
Impariamo a conoscere e distinguere queste figure
White Hat Hacker
They are ethical hackers, whose goal is to break down data protection measures, without determining their compromise or confidentiality, to measure their level of reliability. White hats are always looking for bugs and vulnerabilities so they can later provide information to administrators about any discoveries.
Black Hat Hacker
Category of hackers who aim to violate the security of systems for deceptive reasons such as theft of data and information, penetration and creation of malfunctions in systems. They act for personal gain, which may be dictated by the demand for a ransom or the need for sensitive information and data.
He can be considered a hybrid hacker halfway between a black and a white hat hacker. The gray hat is not interested in carrying out malicious acts, but at the same time it does not follow ethical principles. He is committed to searching for bugs and sensitive targets aimed at breaking down and penetrating security systems, he informs administrators without providing a possible solution. He can be defined as a fairly opportunistic type of hacker. In the best case scenario, they offer their help in exchange for small sums of money.
Also called "kiddies", generally totally or almost completely inexperienced in what computer programming is. They delight in sourcing and downloading the necessary scripts and software from other hackers in order to attack for pleasure and entertainment. Not possessing any ability or knowledge on the subject, they turn out to be the most dangerous as they are completely unaware of the very high amount of damage they can cause. However, their inexperience leads them to leave traces and consequently be exposed very easily.
Groups of hackers founded around an ideology, spread through various techniques. Their goal is to advance a cause, which is why they never act against the producers and the systems that ensure the functioning of the tools they use. The best-known hacktivist movement in the world is that of Anonymous.
Their goal is to instill fear in their audience. This occurs through attacks not only on computer systems, but also on systems relating to public safety, such as the control of critical infrastructures such as power and nuclear power plants.
This classification of hacker enjoys exploring telephone systems; in fact, they are able to make free calls from payphones to phones whose number they do not know. But they are also able to intercept conversations. The first phreakers were born at Bell Telephone, where kids enjoyed randomly connecting telephone lines by putting two strangers in contact. To date, this phenomenon has almost completely disappeared, except for a small part dictated by the presence of new Voice Over IP technologies.
The University of Catania, in collaboration with Free Mind Foundry, offers the opportunity to learn in depth everything that lies behind this fascinating world that is cybersecurity, in order to be able to prevent and counterattack the increasingly frequent cyber attacks. This is possible thanks to the provision of the Master in Cybersecurity Culture & Governance.
The skills acquired during the Master allow the development of a high level of preparation with the aim of training participants to proceed with greater safety in the field of cybersecurity.
The master's degree, starting in mid-June 2022, is aimed at professionals, undergraduates and graduates from the Faculties of Computer Science, Engineering, Law and Economics and will be delivered in Live Virtual Training mode, in order to guarantee real-time interaction between all participants and teachers.