10. Chaos Computer Club

The Chaos Computer Club was formed on 1981 in Berlin. They hacked into German Bildschirmtext computer network and debiting 134,000 Deutsch Marks from a Hamburg bank. They returned the money the next day, having proven their point: the system’s security was flawed.

Some members were also involved in a cyberespionage case in 1989. They hacked into corporate and government computers in the US and sold the source code to the KGB.

They used hacking to protest French nuclear testing, to publish the fingerprints of Germany’s Minister of the Interior, Wolfgang Schäuble, and to expose a government Trojan horse spyware device.

9. Global KOS

The goal of Global kOS (pronounced “chaos”) was exactly chaotic. Their goal was to create as much cyber chaos as they could. Some of the most known members are AcidAngel, The Assassin and Shadow Hunter.

They made it possible for a wider audience to be able to hack without much knowledge about computers and technology.

In 1996 by AcidAngel, “Up Yours!” was a denial of service tool that brought down websites of 40 politicians, including Rush Limbaugh, MTV and the Ku Klux Klan.

Other tools developed by Global kOS include the kOS Crack, for cracking passwords, and BattlePong, an IRC flooding utility.

8. The Level Seven Crew

The Level Seven Crew, believed to be named after the seventh level of hell (“the violent”) from Dantes Inferno.

In 1999 alone, Level Seven illegally infiltrated over 60 computer systems, including those of NASA, The First American National Bank, and Sheraton Hotels. They also broke into the website of the US Embassy in China and defaced it with racist slogans to protest the United States’ accidental bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade.

And they were apparently the first group to hack into a .ma (Moroccan) domain.

Mostly they tended to develop “hacktivism,” a form of online activism, rather than personal gain activities.

7. globalHell

The hacker group globalHell is compared to a street gang but in the cyberspace. The group is said to have attacked and destroyed data on 115 websites, caused millions of dollars in damages, and trafficked stolen information.

Ironically, globalHell was co-founded by a known Houston street gang member named Patrick Gregory, who turned to computers as a “way out” of gang life but he just passed his real life into the virtual reality.

They also attacked United States Army’s website, vandalizing it with the message, “globalHell will not die.”

6. TeaMp0isoN

A 16-year-old hacker who goes by the online name TriCk started TeaMp0isoN in 2010. The group was responsible for hacking into Facebook, NATO, and the English Defense League. They also hacked into an email account and retrieved personal data about former British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

The group also hacked the British Anti-terrorism Hotline to protest the extradition of suspects to the US.

This group claims to be politicaly motivated and tends to make governments see what are they doing wrong.

5. Network Crack Program Hacker Group

The Network Crack Program Hacker Group (NCPH) was formed in 1994, in Zigong, China. They have some kind of a hierarchy, four members are on the top of the group. It’s actually said that the group’s leader, Wicked Rose (real name Tan Dailin), works for the Chinese Army.

Initially, NCPH was hacking into a large proportion of Chinese hacker association websites. In 2006, Wicked Rose’s GinWui rootkit was employed in attacks on the US Department of Defense.
The group is also well known for the remote-network-control and network-infiltration programs they have available for download.

According to Wicked Rose, NCPH is paid for their work by a mysterious sponsor and that is beleived to be the People’s Liberation Army.

4. LulzSec - “Laughing at your security since 2011.”

The group works with exposing security weaknesses and flaws, and their targets have included Fox.com, an X-Factor database (they released the contact information for 73,000 contestants), Sony, the CIA, and the FBI. They are said to have caused billions of dollars in damages.

2012, members of LulzSec were arrested, after their leader, code-named Sabu, turned them over to the FBI to face charges of conspiracy. A few months later, the group reemerged, hacking into a dating website for singles in the military.

They dumped 170,937 email accounts, claiming that Lulzsec had been “reborn.”

3. Masters of Deception

New York hacker group Masters of Deception was formed in 1989, as a bitter rival to Texas-based hackers Legion of Doom.

To prove their power this group carried out what has been dubbed “one of the most extensive thefts of computer information ever reported.” According to reports, they broke into tough-to-crack servers and stole confidential information, which they later sold. Secret Service members found five top members. They were charged with “computer tampering, computer and wire fraud, illegal wiretapping, and conspiracy.”

2. Milw0rm

On June 3, 1998, a group of hacktivists Milw0rm targeted the computers of India’s primary nuclear facility, the Bhabha Atomic Research Center. The group operated from the UK, the US, Russia and New Zealand.

They lifted five megabytes of classified files about India’s last five nuclear tests, erased data from two servers, and posted anti-nuclear messages on the center’s website. The effect was inmense.

They also hacked into a web hosting company named EasySpace, and within an hour they had posted their anti-nuclear message on 300 websites, including those of the FIFA World Cup, Drew Barrymore, Wimbledon, and the Saudi Royal Family.

1. Anonymous - “We are Anonymous. We are Legion. We do not forgive. We do not forget. Expect us.”

Anonymous is a huge, amorphous group of hackers that emerged and developed and made a big impact until now. On January 19, 2012, more than 5,635 people (some unknowingly) joined a DDOS attack against supporters of the Stop Online Piracy Act. They attacked FBI website, the Justice Department, the Motion Picture Association of America, and Universal Music Group.

They were also protesting UK extradition policies, tracking down cyber-criminals (such as “Internet predator” Chris Forcand), and taking down child porn sites hidden in the depths of the worldwide web.
Anonymous has threatened Mexican drug cartel group “Los Zetas,” attacked the Pentagon, threatened to take down Facebook, and waged war on Scientology.