hacker
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hacker
A person who unlawfully breaks into other people's computer systems or networks, often with criminal or harmful intent.
Die Hacker haben durch den Angriff sensible Kundendaten gestohlen.
The hackers stole sensitive customer data through the attack.
The word is borrowed from English. It combines the stem of the verb 'to hack' with the German ending '-er', which denotes a person who performs an activity. This structure is very common in German, e.g. 'fahren' (to drive) → 'Fahrer' (driver).
Ein guter Hacker kennt die Schwachstellen von Netzwerken.
A good hacker knows the weaknesses of networks.
The negative meaning, criminal, is the most widespread in the media and everyday language. The original, positive or neutral meaning, creative expert, is used mainly within the tech community and by specialists to distinguish themselves from criminals.
Die Zeitung berichtete über einen Hacker, der eine Bank erpresst hat.
The newspaper reported on a hacker who blackmailed a bank.
In a criminal context, 'Hacker' is often combined with verbs like 'angreifen' (to attack), 'eindringen' (to break in), 'Daten stehlen' (to steal data), or 'Systeme lahmlegen' (to disable systems). The word 'Hackerangriff' (hacker attack/cyberattack) is also very common.
Die Firma war das Ziel eines professionellen Hackerangriffs.
The company was the target of a professional cyberattack.
In the positive sense, people often speak of the 'Hacker-Szene' (hacker scene), the 'Hacker-Kultur' (hacker culture), or 'ethischen Hackern' (ethical hackers). These people test systems for weaknesses in order to make them more secure.
Ethische Hacker helfen Unternehmen, ihre IT-Sicherheit zu verbessern.
Ethical hackers help companies improve their IT security.
attacker
In the area of computers and the internet, 'der Angreifer' and 'der Hacker' can both mean a person who endangers a system. 'der Angreifer' describes the role in an attack: someone, or even a program, tries to disrupt a system or steal data. 'der Hacker' means a person with computer skills; it often refers to someone who breaks into systems without permission, but the word can also be used more neutrally for very strong technical skills. The words are easy to confuse because a hacker can be an attacker. But not every attacker is automatically a hacker, and not every hacker has harmful intent.
Ein Hacker fand eine Schwachstelle im System und meldete sie der Firma.
A hacker found a vulnerability in the system and reported it to the company.
Der Angreifer versuchte, das Passwort des Firmenkontos zu stehlen.
The attacker tried to steal the password for the company account.