克萊奧法斯?穆隆戈

Hacker1 vs Cracker vs Scammer： These are the three most-dreaded terms in the tech industry. Probably you have fallen a victim to one or even all of them. But， what do these terms really mean？ Are they that dangerous as they are perceived？ And what is the difference between them？ In this article， we are going to dissect the differences between a hacker， a cracker， and a scammer.

Who is a hacker？

A hacker is someone who uses special skills to identify the flaws in a computer system and works towards improving them. The skills can be networking skills， computer security skills or even system hardware skills.

If a hacker identifies security flaws within a system， he or she will work towards solving them so as to prevent any other incidence of unauthorized access. While we have defined hackers from a positive perspective， this is not always the case. This is because hackers are divided into different groups. We have a white hat and black hat hackers.

White hat hackers are the group of hackers who stay within the limits of the law while doing their job. They are a true representation of what hacking is. They do not use their skills to access any system illegally. Instead， they just do as required by an organization.

Hackers are professionals and they are usually hired by companies to test security systems. They highlight weak points within a system or a network and recommend appropriate security measures to be taken.

Goals of a hacker

Hackers， crackers， and scammers can be differentiated by the goals that they have. Hackers are mainly interested in studying how computer systems and networks work. They are familiar with all the necessary tools that are needed to get into a system.

A hacker is also aware of the techniques that a cracker will use to get into a system for the purpose of committing a malicious activity. They design various measures to prevent the activities of crackers. The overall goal of a hacker is to improve a system by making it more secure. They do what is usually known as ethical hacking.

Who is a cracker？

Crackers and hackers almost refer to the same person. However， there are some differences in the way that they do their work. While hackers act in a way that is within the legal frameworks， crackers are keen on breaking the existing laws. They use their knowledge and skills to breach the security of a computer system and network.

Crackers gain access to peoples or organizations private data and do some level of damage. The damages caused by crackers can vary. The most common ones include stealing credit card information， stealing personal details and information which they will sell， destroying or encrypting important files， making the system inaccessible to other people among many other malicious activities.

Crackers are also known as black hat hackers.

Goals of a cracker

Crackers are motivated by various factors. On top of the list is financial gain. They can attack a system with the aim of getting financial information. Some are paid by business competitors for the purpose of getting sensitive information about an organization. Some crackers execute their moves for the sake of gaining publicity or showcasing how powerful they are.

Who is a scammer？

A scammer is a person who uses fraudulent tricks and schemes in order to obtain some favor from an individual. In most cases， the favors come in the form of money. A scammer will always pretend to be someone else and will always act in a way that will win your trust. Most scammers use the internet to lure their victims into doing something.

In most cases， scammers dont have unique programming skills. Instead， they rely on using mind games. They play with the mind of a potential victim until you finally give in to their demands.

Difference between the three

From the article， we can easily point out the disparity between a hacker， scammer， and cracker. While a hacker will aim at doing good to the society， a cracker and a scammer have ill intentions. Also， hacking is an ethical and legally recognized profession. On the other hand， cracking and scamming are criminal activities.

黑客、破解者、詐騙者：這是科技行業(yè)最令人恐懼的三個(gè)術(shù)語。可能您已經(jīng)遭受過其中之一甚或是上述三者的侵害。但是，這些術(shù)語的真正含義是什么？它們是否像人們認(rèn)為的那樣危險(xiǎn)？它們之間又有什么區(qū)別？本文將剖析黑客、破解者以及詐騙者之間的區(qū)別。

黑客是何許人？

黑客是指利用特殊技能來識(shí)別計(jì)算機(jī)系統(tǒng)漏洞，并致力于修復(fù)這些漏洞的人。這些技能包括網(wǎng)絡(luò)技能、計(jì)算機(jī)安全技能，甚或系統(tǒng)硬件技能。

如果黑客發(fā)現(xiàn)了系統(tǒng)中的安全漏洞，他們會(huì)努力修復(fù)這些漏洞，以防任何其他未經(jīng)授權(quán)的訪問事件發(fā)生。盡管我們從積極的角度對(duì)黑客進(jìn)行了定義，但情況并非總是如此，因?yàn)楹诳头譃椴煌娜后w，有白帽黑客和黑帽黑客。

白帽黑客是指在法律允許范圍內(nèi)履行職責(zé)的黑客。他們代表真正的黑客作風(fēng)，不會(huì)利用其技能非法訪問任何系統(tǒng)。相反，他們只會(huì)按照組織要求執(zhí)行任務(wù)。

黑客是專業(yè)人士，通常受雇于公司來檢測(cè)安全系統(tǒng)。他們會(huì)指出系統(tǒng)或網(wǎng)絡(luò)中的薄弱環(huán)節(jié)，并建議采取適當(dāng)?shù)陌踩胧?/p>

黑客的目標(biāo)

黑客、破解者以及詐騙者可按照其目標(biāo)加以區(qū)分。黑客主要的興趣在于研究計(jì)算機(jī)系統(tǒng)及網(wǎng)絡(luò)如何運(yùn)行。他們熟悉進(jìn)入系統(tǒng)所需的所有必要手段。

黑客也知道破解者為進(jìn)行惡意活動(dòng)而進(jìn)入系統(tǒng)時(shí)所使用的技術(shù)。他們?cè)O(shè)計(jì)多種方法防止破解者進(jìn)行活動(dòng)。黑客的總體目標(biāo)是通過提高系統(tǒng)安全性來改進(jìn)系統(tǒng)。他們的工作通常被稱為道德黑客行為。

破解者是何許人？

破解者和黑客幾乎指的是同一類人。但是，他們的工作方式有所不同。黑客在法律框架內(nèi)工作;破解者則熱衷于違反現(xiàn)有法律，利用自己的知識(shí)和技能來破壞計(jì)算機(jī)系統(tǒng)和網(wǎng)絡(luò)的安全。

破解者獲取個(gè)人或組織的專用數(shù)據(jù)，并對(duì)其造成一定程度的破壞。破解者造成的破壞各有不同，最常見的惡意活動(dòng)包括竊取信用卡信息、竊取并出售個(gè)人詳細(xì)信息、破壞或加密重要文件，以及使他人無法訪問系統(tǒng)。

破解者也被稱為黑帽黑客。

破解者的目標(biāo)

破解者的動(dòng)機(jī)是多方面的，最重要的就是經(jīng)濟(jì)利益。他們會(huì)攻擊系統(tǒng)，以獲取財(cái)務(wù)信息。有些破解者受雇于商業(yè)競(jìng)爭(zhēng)對(duì)手，為其獲取某一組織的敏感信息。有些破解者則出于吸引公眾注意或炫耀能力的目的進(jìn)行惡意活動(dòng)。

詐騙者是何許人？

詐騙者是指使用詐騙手段及謀劃騙局以從個(gè)人處獲利的人。他們大多是為金錢而行騙。詐騙者總是偽裝成他人，并且總是以騙取信任的方式行騙。大多數(shù)詐騙者都會(huì)利用互聯(lián)網(wǎng)引誘受害者，進(jìn)行詐騙活動(dòng)。

詐騙者大多不具備高超的編程技能，而是依靠心理博弈，與潛在受害者打心理戰(zhàn)，直至其任由他們擺布。

三者的區(qū)別

從文章中，我們可以輕易指出黑客、破解者與詐騙者之間的差異。黑客旨在對(duì)社會(huì)做有益的事，而破解者和詐騙者則居心不良。另外，黑客是一種合乎道德且受法律認(rèn)可的職業(yè)。與之相反，破解及詐騙則是犯罪活動(dòng)。

[譯者單位：中國(guó)石油大學(xué)（北京）]