Cracker

Malicious users intent on waging an attack against a person or system. Crackers may be motivated by greed, power, or recognition. Their actions can result in stolen property (data, ideas, and so on), disabled systems, compromised security, negative public opinion, loss of market share, reduced profitability, and lost productivity. The correct name for an individual who hacks into a networked computer system with malicious intentions. The term “hacker” is used interchangeably (although incorrectly) because of media hype of the word “hacker. ” A cracker explores and detects weak points in the security of a computer networked system and then exploits these weaknesses using specialized tools and techniques.