Top 10 Most Dangerous Hackers In The World

A hacker can be defined as an individual that uses computers to obtain access to information illegally. There can be many reasons to why a person will hack into a system or computer main frame.

Some of it includes getting access to information that can then be sold to third parties while some do it for the sake of testing out their computer skills and software. Whatever the reasons may be, this action is considered a cybercrime that can be convicted if found guilty.

There are many famous hackers worldwide that have not been successfully traced as of today and here we would like to share with you the top 10 most dangerous hackers in the world that you should be scared of.

1. Gary McKinnon

Gary McKinnon is a Scottish hacker and it seems that he managed to pull off one of the most incredible military computer hacks in history. It was between February 2001 and March 2002 that Gary managed to hack 97 computers belonging to NASA and the US military.

He used the hacker's name, Solo to run his operation in his girlfriend's aunt's house in London. He deleted crucial files from the computer system causing the 2000 computer networks in the US military of Washington to be compromised.

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He left a message on the official United States military website stating that the computer security system is like trash. Gary has wiped out the weapon logs of the Naval Weapon Station Earle resulting in 300 computer networks not being able to operate as usual due to missing data.

He was accused of stealing data, account files, and passwords. The loss and damages caused by Gary's hacks were said to reach $800,000.

2. LulzSec

The LulzSec is comprised of a group of Black Hat hackers with 6 members led by Hector Monsegur under an alias, Sabu. This is a high-profile group that is responsible for several hacks on big corporations like Sony, News International, CIA, FBI, Scotland Yard, and other known names.

They managed to hack News International's account and featured a fake report stating that Rupert Murdoch has passed away. They have also hacked Nintendo but there was no priceless information found here.

That's not all a pornography website was also hacked by this group and they revealed 26,000 email addresses and passwords of the users of the website. Worry not as some claimed that this group has finally retired with their motto, "Laughing at your security since 2011!" that still lives to this day.

Some people actually supported this group as they believed that LulzSec was raising awareness among people of the lacking security of these companies against hacking. The former leader of this group also helped the FBI to stop more than 300 cyber attacks ever since his arrest in 2011.

3. Adrian Lamo

Adrian Lamo is a Colombian-American hacker and he is well-known for hacking accounts of Yahoo!, Microsoft, and Google. In 2002, he managed to hack the New York Times and added his own name to their expert database as well as using a LexisNexis account to handle high-profile research.

The New York Times then realized this matter and file a report causing Adrian to be arrested on August 2003. Adrian pledge himself guilty of all the wrongdoings he had done previously.

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He was sentenced to home confinement at his parent's house and ordered to pay $65,000 in restitution. Adrian then became a threat analyst that managed to catch the culprits that spread sensitive information about the US government such as Bradley Manning.

4. Mathew Bevan and Richard Pryce

Mathew Bevan and his partner Richard Pryce are two hackers that have caused a massive dispute between the US and North Korea. What they did was hacked into the US military computers and use this system to sneak into foreign government systems.

Crucial information from the Korean Atomic Research Institute was transferred to the US Air Force system. However, they were quite fortunate enough since the information was mostly on South Korea.

But still who knew if World War III were to happen because of this big mistake.

5. Jonathan James

Started hacking when he was only 16 years old, Jonathan James is one of the greatest hackers yet. He uses the name c0mrade to hack into government bodies which as the Defense Security Cooperation Agency.

He planted a sniffer in the system that allowed him to know messages that are sent by the staff of the government agency. He stole usernames and passwords as well as other crucial information including software.

The software was a vital element of the lives in the International Space Station like temperature and humidity control. NASA was forced to withhold its computer operation for 3 weeks and lost $41,000 trying to reboot its system.

Jonathan however denied all allegations against him. In 2008, Jonathan James committed suicide due to being afraid of being convicted of a crime he did not commit.

6. Kevin Poulsen

Kevin Poulsen is not the same as other hackers as he did not obstruct governmental operations or as such but instead, he hacked in order to win a sports car. On 1 June 1990, he hacked and controlled the Los Angeles radio station(KIIS-FM) telephone line.

His attempt allowed him to decide who the 102nd caller will be and win the Porshe 944 S2 car. The FBI has since tried to find Kevin who has escaped earlier. Kevin was arrested in a supermarket and was sentenced to 5 years in prison.

He was also forbidden from using any computer or the Internet 3 years after his release from prison. This computer ban was perhaps the first of its kind for an American citizen.

7. Kevin Mitnick

If you have watched the movie Takedown, then you would know about the story of a world-class hacker, Kevin Mitnick. He was so good at hacking that the US Federal Judiciary called him the most wanted hacker in US history.

In 1979, when he was 16 years old, he gained access to a computer network without permission when his friend gave him an Ark number which is a computer telephone system of the Digital Equipment Corporation(DEC) used to build their software.

He hacked into DEC computers and counterfeited their software. He was then found guilty and sentenced to 12 months in jail and 3 years of controlled release. In the final years of his supervision, Kevin hacked into the voicemail of Pacific Bell and a warrant for his arrest was issued making him a wanted man for 2 and a half years.

During Kevin's finding, he gained access to computers without permission and uses a clone telephone to hide his true location. He also stole computer passwords, change the computer network, and breached private emails.

He was ultimately arrested in the end and was found guilty of hacking Nokia, Motorola, and the Pentagon. He was then sentenced to 5 years in prison. As of today, he is now the proud owner of Mitnick Security Consulting which offers security services to companies.

8. Anonymous

Anonymous is perhaps one of the well-known hackers and is sometimes called Robin Hood Digital. It is comprised of an activist group or hacktivist as some might prefer. This group is notoriously known for hacking and attacking the government, religious and corporate websites.

Among its popular victims will be the Vatican, FBI, CIA, PayPal, Sony, Mastercard, Visa, and also the government of China, Israel, Tunisia, Australia, India, Syria, United States, and Uganda.

Most of the members of this group have expressed their intent toward filtering and controlling the Internet.

9. Astra

Astra is a pen name used by a hacker who stole and sell firearms. Astra is a 58-year-old Greek who also happens to be a mathematician. Astra managed to hack the Dassault Group computer system for 5 years and stole information on firearm technology and 3D model software.

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This crucial information was then sold to at least 250 individuals in Brazil, France, Germany, Italy, South Africa, and the Middle East. Dassault Group then realized this breach and started their search.

They finally traced Astra in his apartment in Athens, Greece. Dassault Group had an estimated loss of $360 million and Astra was arrested in 2008 and sentenced to 6 years in prison.

10. Albert Gonzalez

Some might question the security of the internet banking system. Millions of people have been scammed from using the Internet banking service and it seems that Albert Gonzales agrees with this statement that internet banking is not safe.

Albert has stolen the credit card information of various people for 2 years and it is the biggest credit card heist in the history of mankind. As many as 170 million credit card was resold together with the ATM number.

He used a sniffer to steal this information which then stole information from the corporate network. He also supervised the shadow crew website which is a forum that allowed its members to purchase stolen credit cards.

The loss incurred by his hack amounted to $200 million and he was put to 20 years behind bars.

Source:

• The Register

• BBC

• Thought Catalog

Also read: Samuel Bellamy - Richest Pirate In History