Know Your Cyberenemy: The 7 Types of Malicious Hackers

Can you describe the difference between a cybercriminal, a hacktivist, or an advanced persistent threat (APT) agent?

If you can't, InfoWorld's Roger A. Grimes lays out the seven kinds of malicious hackers with brief descriptions of each.

They are:

1. Cyber criminals
2. Spammers and adware spreaders
3. Advanced persistent threat (APT) agents
4. Corporate spies
5. Hactivists
6. Cyber warriors
7. Rogue hackers

For those who think these taxonomies are distinctions without a difference, Grimes says think again.

"It's important to know your enemy in order to defend against them," he warns. "If you think simply having a buffer overflow, fully patched systems, and antivirus will defend against all hackers no matter their objectives, you're wrong."

For organizations with sensitive information to protect,  the real nasty threat in this rogue's gallery are the APT agents. These are well-organized, well-funded tech geeks who specifically target an organization—whether public or private—and quietly breach the target's networks to fill up on intelligence or intellectual property without anyone ever knowing they were there.