Top 10 Most Dangerous Hackers of All Time

What is Hacking?

Several people remain unaware of the “hacking” word until they become a part of the victims who got screwed in the act. However, you got the chance to know about hacking beforehand, which is perfect. As an example – Suppose you are using your FB, and suddenly you are putting your password, which you haven’t changed for a long time, is not giving you access to your ID means your account is hacked.

Similarly, suddenly losing access to your account to someone else’s hands without being notified is known as hacking. In this condition, you become a victim who has no access to the data saved on the account which is hacked.

Moreover, the person with access to your account can use your data anytime to run any tasks without your permission. Needlessly you have to accept any demand from the hacker to get your access back unless you want your confidential data on the internet.

How can you save your data from such criminals and attacks?

Ethical Hacking?

It is the process of identifying and exploiting the system and network’s security flaws to get the best solution for enhancing security measures in the company’s infrastructure. With the skills of ethical hacking, you can fight against the online threats executed by adversaries who want to breach your data to earn ransom money.

Now, here we will talk about some of the hackers in history who became famous for their hacking styles. Let’s continue!

1. Kevin Mitnick

He started his career in his early teens. The year 1981, he got detained for breaching computer manuals from Pacific Bell. The year 1982 got in the spotlight due to his hacking attempt on the North American Defense Command (NORAD). Following this event, the year 1983 showed the film “War Games.”

He hacked DEC’s network and made duplicates of their software in 1989. The reason behind that is that DEC was the leading PC manufacturing firm in that era which made “Mitnick” the headline of the newspaper.

Afterward, he got detained and sent to jail. On bail, he hacked Pacific Bell’s voicemail systems. During his hacking days, he never shared access to the system he hijacked or shared the data he breached.

It’s a belief that he got full access to the Pacific Bell’s network just to prove it could happen. For that, he got a warrant issued in his name. However, he was able to flee & hid for 2 + years. After getting caught, he has to pass his time in jail for various wire & PC fraud.

Even though he was a white hat hacker, he was in both boats, “White and Grey Hat.”

2. Anonymous

This group emerged in 2003 on 4chan message boards in an unnamed forum. It represents a little firm & focused on “Social Justice.” Ex – Year 2008, it supported the “Chruch of Scientology.” The group started disabling its websites which negatively impacted its ranking at Google. Moreover, the group overwhelmed its fax devices with Full Black Pictures.

In 2008, Mar, the “Anons” group crossed several Scientology centers globally while wearing the “Fawkes Mask.”

The New Yorker observed even though the FBI & other law enforcement agencies have found some group members lacking in real hierarchy, making it impossible to recognize/ eliminate Anonymous as a group.

3. Adrian Lamo

In the year 2001, Adrian Lamo (20) used an insecure content management tool at Yahoo to upgrade a Reuters article & a fabricated quote related to former Attorney General John Ashcroft. He often hacked systems & expose the crime to the press & the victims.

Moreover, in some incidents, he would suggest some points to enhance their protection. In 2002, he even hacked “The New York Times” intranet and added himself to the expert sources list.

He also started searching for finding high-profile public figures. Additionally, he earned himself a name, “The Homeless Hacker,” who lived on the streets and had a backpack while having nowhere to stay.

4. Albert Gonzalez

Gonzalez, aka Soupnazi, began his career at high school in Miami as the “Troubled Pack Leader of Computer Nerds.” Moreover, he got active on Shadowcrew.com (Criminal Commerce Site) and was known as the best between hackers and moderators.

He was arrested at the age of 22 for stealing data related to millions of card accounts, known as the “New York Debit Card Fraud.”

To not go to jail, he even supported dozens of Shadowcrew members. Working as a paid informer, he continues to carry out his criminal assignments. With the support of several accomplices, he stole 180 million + payment card A/cs from the following firms.

1. OfficeMax,
2. Dave & Buster’s, and Boston Market.

His 2005’s attack on US retailer TJX was the first serial data breach of credit details. Via SQL Injection, he & his team developed many back doors in several offices’ networks to steal around $ 256 million from TJX individually.

Gonzalez was victimized in a way that the federal prosecution at his sentencing in 2015 described as “unparalleled.”

5. Matthew Bevan and Richard Pryce

They assembled a group of British hackers that broke into numerous military networks in 1996, including.

1. The Korean Atomic Research Institute (KARI),
2. Griffiss Air Force Base, and
3. The Defense Information System Agency.

After dumping KARI research onto American military systems, Bevan (Kuji) and Pryce (Datastream Cowboy) have been charged with almost sparking a third world war.

According to Bevan, he was seeking evidence to support a UFO conspiracy idea. His situation is similar to Gary McKinnon’s, according to the BBC.

Bevan and Pryce showed that even military networks are susceptible, whether or not there is malicious intent.

6. Jeanson James Ancheta

He had no desire to break into systems to steal credit card information or to crash networks to enact social justice.

He was more interested in using bots, which are software-based robots that may infect and ultimately take control of computer systems.

In 2005, he was able to compromise more than 400,000 machines by using several sizable “botnets.”

Ars Technica claims that he afterward rented out these workstations to advertising businesses and received payment directly to install bots or adware on particular systems.

Ancheta received a 57-month prison term. This was the first instance of a hacker being imprisoned for using a botnet.

7. Michael Calce

He was popularly known as “Mafiaboy,” a 15-year-old who learned how to hijack university computer networks in February 2000.

He pooled their resources to overthrow Yahoo, the leading search engine at the time.

By utilizing a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack to overwhelm business servers and bring down their websites, he also shut down Dell, eBay, CNN, and Amazon within a week.

The biggest shock for internet supporters and investors in cybercrime came from Calce’s wake-up call.

Was any online data truly safe if the largest websites in the world, valued at over $1 billion, could be so quickly shut down?

It is hardly an overstatement to claim that Calce’s hack made the creation of cybercrime legislation an urgent government priority.

8. Kevin Poulsen

Under the identity of Dark Dante, a 17-year-old Poulsen gained access to the Pentagon’s computer network ARPANET in 1983.

Even though he, a minor at the time, was immediately apprehended, the government chose not to press charges. Instead, he was given a warning and released.

He ignored this advice and carried on hacking.

In 1988, he broke into a government computer and combed through documents of Ferdinand Marcos, the ousted president of the Philippines.

He fled into hiding after being apprehended by the authorities. Poulsen remained active while hiding out by hacking into government databases and leaking information.

He allegedly hacked a radio station contest in 1990 to ensure he was the 102nd caller, winning a brand-new Porsche, a trip, and $20,000 in the process.

He was promptly detained and given a three-year computer use ban.

Since then, he has switched to white hat hacking and journalism, writing for publications like Wired, The Daily Beast, and his own site, Threat Level, about web-related sociopolitical issues and cyber security.

He also collaborated on several initiatives for social justice and information freedom with other top hackers.

Perhaps most significantly, he collaborated with Jim Dolan and Adam Swartz to create SecureDrop, an open-source program that was first called DeadDrop.

He eventually gave the Freedom of Press Foundation access to the platform, which allowed for secure contact between reporters and sources.

9. Jonathan James

He breached multiple businesses while posing as cOmrade. Moreover, he was most interested in James’ intrusion into the Department of Defense’s computer system. The most impressive thing was that he was only 15 at the time.

He acknowledged that the book The Cuckoo’s Egg, which describes the hunt for a computer hacker in the 1980s, inspired an interview with PC Mag. Through hacking, he accessed over 3,000 messages from government workers and usernames, passwords, and other private information.

In addition to a six-month house imprisonment and a prohibition on recreational computer use, he was arrested in 2000. However, he spent six months in jail due to a probation breach. The earliest individual to be found guilty of breaking cybercrime laws was him.

When TJX, a department shop, was hacked in 2007, many customers’ personal data was exposed. Despite the absence of proof, authorities believe James might have been complicit.

James shot himself with a gun in 2008. The Daily Mail said that he wrote in his suicide note, “I have no faith in the ‘justice’ system. Perhaps my actions today, and this letter, will send a stronger message to the public. Either way, I have lost control over this situation, and this is my only way to regain control.”

10. ASTRA

The fact that this hacker has never been publicly named sets him apart from the others on this list. The Daily Mail claims that some information concerning ASTRA has, however, been made public.

Specifically, he was identified as a 58-year-old Greek mathematician when he was detained by authorities in 2008. He allegedly spent close to five years hacking the Dassault Group.

He stole data and software related to cutting-edge weapons technology during that period and sold it to 250 people worldwide.

His hacking caused $360 million in losses for the Dassault Group. Nobody is sure why he has never revealed his full identity, although the word “ASTRA” is a Sanskrit word meaning “weapon”

Conclusion

Hacking is a big world thing. If you wish to become one of those people serving the world with their skills, you can learn hacking by contacting relevant personalities and starting your hacking career.

One of the best entities you can meet is a training and certification provider of ethical hacking. That’s because, even though there are a lot of people offering you the knowledge of hacking to the aspirants, however, you need legitimate people to give you proper path guidance to start your career legally.

One of the best ethical hacking training and certification providers in india & outside is Craw Security which offers cyber security training and certification to IT professionals who want to enhance their knowledge and skills in the field of cyber security.

With that, you will get the best trainers experienced for years in ethical hacking while practicing their hacking skills in real-life scenarios. What are you waiting for? Contact Now!

About The Author

Suraj Koli is a content specialist with expertise in Cybersecurity and B2B Domains. He has provided his skills for News4Hackers Blog and Craw Security. Moreover, he has written content for various sectors Business, Law, Food & Beverage, Entertainment, and many others. Koli established his center of the field in a very amazing scenario. Simply said, he started his career selling products, where he enhanced his skills in understanding the product and the point of view of clients from the customer’s perspective, which simplified his journey in the long run. It makes him an interesting personality among other writers. Currently, he is a regular writer at Craw Security.

About Author