Definition
A back-hack is a reciprocal approach in which the victim of an attack tries to track the hack back into the attacker’s system. This measure seeks to detect the attacker, collect evidence, or even retaliate.
Hackback is regularly conducted on questionable ethical and legal grounds despite offering vital information.
Back-hack Examples
- Identification of origin: When an organization detects an unauthorized entrance, it tracks the incursion back to its source. This allows them to identify compromised servers the hacker uses as a launchpad.
- Retaliation on the intruder: An organization’s cybersecurity team disrupts the criminal’s activity when counter-attacking a cyber-attack. They use malware to impair the criminal’s system temporarily.
- Gathering evidence for prosecution: A compromised company finds the perpetrator’s digital signature and penetrates its network to collect evidence.
- Mapping the offender’s network: After a breach, the victimized entity firm infiltrates the attacker’s digital territory. This enables them to find compromised systems and help other potential targets boost defences.
- Recovering stolen information: The main aim of hacking back into the attacker’s system is to retrieve stolen data before it’s sold or exploited by the criminals.