29 Dec 2023
Hackers committing cybercrimes have become increasingly common. Hacking can be done from the comfort of one’s home, and hackers can remain anonymous if they know how to cover their tracks.
1 in 5 Dutch individuals will eventually be confronted with a hacked website, hacked social accounts, compromised computers, or even hacked smartphones.
Money or in some cases “fame” is the motivation for hackers to target websites, especially if they can redirect visitors to their own (often illegal) websites. For hackers, it’s not about quality, but quantity. If a website is easily hackable with a script, hackers will use it as a means of advertisement.
Hackers can monetize their activities by operating websites that fish for bank credentials or sell products. By increasing the number of visitors and links to their website, they can rank higher on Google and generate revenue from product sales.
Hackers often evade capture by using proxies or different IP addresses. They might operate from internet cafes or use other people’s Wi-Fi connections. Similar to how burglars work at night to avoid detection, hackers try to remain unseen. Once a website is hacked and redirects visitors to an illegal website or webshop, the hacker behind the attack is concealed, and the compromised website becomes the end of the line.
Hackers can gain entry to a website personally by phishing for usernames and passwords, but more often, they exploit known vulnerabilities within a system. They may use brute force attacks to try multiple passwords rapidly or perform a SQL injection to access the MySQL database and disable security or create their login credentials. Other methods include gaining access through FTP, admin panels, databases, or malware that records keystrokes and sends them to the hacker.
Yes, hackers are considered criminals as their actions often cause harm and incur costs to website owners. Cybercrime is not limited to individuals with tattoos and criminal records; even seemingly innocent individuals like teenagers or young adults can engage in hacking without realizing the legal and harmful consequences.
To protect against hackers, using Ithemes Security PRO is recommended. This plugin ensures that WordPress is not easily exploitable, and it thwarts hacker attempts to hack into the system. It tracks login attempts and injection trials, and it also creates backups of the database and records server changes, allowing easy restoration of the website if needed.
