Ask Difference

Hack vs. Hijack — What's the Difference?

Edited by Tayyaba Rehman — By Fiza Rafique — Updated on April 27, 2024
Hack involves unauthorized access to data in a system or computer, while hijack entails taking control of a system or vehicle forcibly or by coercion.
Hack vs. Hijack — What's the Difference?

Difference Between Hack and Hijack

ADVERTISEMENT

Key Differences

Hack refers to the act of using computer skills to gain unauthorized access to data in a system, typically for malicious purposes. On the other hand, hijack involves forcibly taking control of a system, vehicle, or mechanism, often involving physical coercion or threat.
Hackers often exploit vulnerabilities in software or systems to access sensitive information or disrupt operations. Whereas hijackers typically use physical force or threats to achieve control over vehicles, such as airplanes or buses.
Hacking can be done remotely, often without the direct interaction with the target system's hardware. Conversely, hijacking usually requires the hijacker to be physically present or directly interact with the target.
In the digital context, hacking can also refer to creative problem-solving or the modification of software or hardware to achieve outcomes for which it was not originally intended. Meanwhile, hijacking in any context implies an illegal and non-consensual takeover.
While both hacking and hijacking can be illegal and involve security breaches, hacking is predominantly associated with data and systems, and hijacking with vehicles and other physical entities.
ADVERTISEMENT

Comparison Chart

Definition

Unauthorized access to data or systems.
Forcible takeover of control of a vehicle or system.

Typical Context

Digital systems (computers, networks).
Physical vehicles (planes, cars) or systems.

Means

Exploiting software vulnerabilities.
Use of force or threat.

Interaction

Often remote.
Physical presence typically required.

Primary Intent

Access, theft of data, or disruption.
Control or redirection of a vehicle/system.

Compare with Definitions

Hack

Unauthorized entry into a digital system to manipulate or steal data.
The hacker managed to hack into the database undetected.

Hijack

To take over something, such as a meeting or conversation, to serve one’s own agenda.
The discussion was hijacked by members with their own agendas.

Hack

To play a computer game in a specified manner.
They hacked all night to reach the final level.

Hijack

To steal or appropriate for oneself.
He hijacked my idea and presented it as his own.

Hack

To cut or chop with heavy blows.
He hacked at the branches with an old axe.

Hijack

To engage in unauthorized redirection of information or links.
The website was hijacked, redirecting visitors to a fraudulent site.

Hack

Informal: To manage or cope with a situation.
He's just hacking it, not really knowing what he's doing.

Hijack

To commandeer a broadcast signal.
Hackers hijacked the TV station's signal to broadcast their message.

Hack

To creatively solve or bypass limitations.
She hacked the coffee machine to serve hotter beverages.

Hijack

Illegally seize control of a vehicle, especially with coercion.
Terrorists hijacked the plane midway through the flight.

Hack

Cut with rough or heavy blows
Men hack at the coalface
I watched them hack the branches

Hijack

To seize control of (a vehicle such as an airplane or bus) by use of force, especially as a way of reaching an alternate destination or as an act of terrorism.

Hack

Gain unauthorized access to data in a system or computer
They hacked into the bank's computer
Someone hacked his computer from another location

Hijack

To kidnap (a person in a vehicle)
People who have experienced the trauma of being hijacked.

Hack

Cough persistently
I was waking up in the middle of the night and coughing and hacking for hours

Hijack

To stop and rob (a vehicle in transit).

Hack

Manage; cope
Lots of people leave because they can't hack it

Hijack

To steal (goods) from a vehicle in transit.

Hack

Ride a horse for pleasure or exercise
Some gentle hacking in a scenic setting

Hijack

To take control of (something) without permission or authorization and use it for one's own purposes
Dissidents who hijacked the town council.
Spammers who hijacked a computer network.

Hack

A rough cut, blow, or stroke
He was sure one of us was going to take a hack at him

Hijack

To steal or appropriate for oneself
Hijacked her story and used it in his own book.

Hack

An act of computer hacking
The challenge of the hack itself

Hijack

The act or an instance of hijacking.

Hack

A writer or journalist producing dull, unoriginal work
Sunday newspaper hacks earn their livings on such gullibilities

Hijack

To forcibly seize control of some vehicle in order to rob it or to reach a destination (especially an airplane, truck or a boat).

Hack

A horse for ordinary riding.

Hijack

To seize control of some process or resource to achieve a purpose other than its originally intended one.
Hijack the radio show

Hack

A taxi.

Hijack

(computing) To seize control of a networked computer by means of infecting it with a worm or other malware, thereby turning it into a zombie.

Hack

A board on which a hawk's meat is laid.

Hijack

(computing) To change software settings without a user's knowledge so as to force that user to visit a certain web site.
To hijack a browser

Hack

A wooden frame for drying bricks, cheeses, etc.

Hijack

(politics) To introduce an amendment deleting the contents of a bill and inserting entirely new provisions.

Hack

To cut or chop with repeated and irregular blows
Hacked down the saplings.

Hijack

An instance of hijacking; the illegal seizure of a vehicle; a hijacking.

Hack

To make or shape by hitting or chopping with a sharp implement
Hacked a trail through the forest.

Hijack

An instance of a seizure and redirection of a process.

Hack

To break up the surface of (soil).

Hijack

(politics) An amendment which deletes the contents of a bill and inserts entirely new provisions.

Hack

To alter (a computer program)
Hacked her text editor to read HTML.

Hijack

(poker slang) Preflop, the position two before the dealer.

Hack

To gain access to (a computer file or network) illegally or without authorization
Hacked the firm's personnel database.

Hijack

(obsolete) A highwayman, robber.

Hack

(Slang) To cut or mutilate as if by hacking
Hacked millions off the budget.

Hijack

Seizure of a vehicle in transit either to rob it or divert it to an alternate destination

Hack

(Slang) To cope with successfully; manage
Couldn't hack a second job.

Hijack

Take arbitrarily or by force;
The Cubans commandeered the plane and flew it to Miami

Hack

To chop or cut something by hacking.

Hack

To write or refine computer programs skillfully.

Hack

To use one's skill in computer programming to gain illegal or unauthorized access to a file or network
Hacked into the company's intranet.

Hack

To cough roughly or harshly.

Hack

To let out (a horse) for hire.

Hack

To make banal or hackneyed with indiscriminate use.

Hack

To drive a taxicab for a living.

Hack

To work for hire as a writer.

Hack

To ride on horseback at an ordinary pace.

Hack

A rough, irregular cut made by hacking.

Hack

A tool, such as a hoe, used for hacking.

Hack

A blow made by hacking.

Hack

An attempt to hit a baseball; a swing of the bat.

Hack

An instance of gaining unauthorized access to a computer file or network.

Hack

A program that makes use of existing often proprietary software, adding new features to it.

Hack

A clever modification or improvement.

Hack

A rough, dry cough.

Hack

A horse used for riding or driving; a hackney.

Hack

A worn-out horse for hire; a jade.

Hack

One who undertakes unpleasant or distasteful tasks for money or reward; a hireling.

Hack

A writer hired to produce routine or commercial writing.

Hack

A carriage or hackney for hire.

Hack

A taxicab.

Hack

See hackie.

Hack

By, characteristic of, or designating routine or commercial writing
Hack prose.

Hack

Hackneyed; banal.

Hack

(transitive) To chop or cut down in a rough manner.
They hacked the brush down and made their way through the jungle.

Hack

(intransitive) To cough noisily.
This cold is awful. I can't stop hacking.

Hack

To withstand or put up with a difficult situation.
Can you hack it out here with no electricity or running water?

Hack

(computing) To make a quick code change to patch a computer program, often one that, while being effective, is inelegant or makes the program harder to maintain.
I hacked in a fix for this bug, but we'll still have to do a real fix later.

Hack

(computing) To accomplish a difficult programming task.
He can hack like no one else and make the program work as expected.

Hack

To work with something on an intimately technical level.
I'm currently hacking distributed garbage collection.

Hack

To hack into; to gain unauthorized access to (a computer system, e.g., a website, or network) by manipulating code.

Hack

To gain unauthorised access to a computer or online account belonging to (a person or organisation).
When I logged into the social network, I discovered I'd been hacked.

Hack

To cheat by using unauthorized modifications.
That player must be hacking, they got so many kills last game.

Hack

(ice hockey) To strike an opponent with one's hockey stick, typically on the leg but occasionally and more seriously on the back, arm, head, etc.
He's going to the penalty box after hacking the defender in front of the goal.
Jensen gets a 5 minute major penalty for hacking Orsov in the back.

Hack

(ice hockey) To make a flailing attempt to hit the puck with a hockey stick.
There's a scramble in front of the net as the forwards are hacking at the bouncing puck.

Hack

(baseball) To swing at a pitched ball.
He went to the batter's box hacking.

Hack

(soccer and rugby) To kick (a player) on the shins.

Hack

To strike in a frantic movement.

Hack

(transitive) To strike lightly as part of tapotement massage.

Hack

To lay (bricks) on a rack to dry.

Hack

(falconry) To keep (young hawks) in a state of partial freedom, before they are trained.

Hack

(dated) To make common or cliched; to vulgarise.

Hack

(horses) To ride a horse at a regular pace; to ride on a road (as opposed to riding cross-country etc.).

Hack

(obsolete) To live the life of a drudge or hack.

Hack

To use as a hack; to let out for hire.

Hack

To use frequently and indiscriminately, so as to render trite and commonplace.

Hack

To drive a hackney cab.

Hack

To play hackeysack.

Hack

A tool for chopping.

Hack

A hacking blow.

Hack

A gouge or notch made by such a blow.

Hack

A dry cough.

Hack

A hacking; a catch in speaking; a short, broken cough.

Hack

(figuratively) A try, an attempt.

Hack

(curling) The foothold traditionally cut into the ice from which the person who throws the rock pushes off for delivery.

Hack

(obsolete) A mattock or a miner's pickaxe.

Hack

(informal) An improvised device or solution to a problem.
Luckily for us J company picked us up in their hack — two snowmobiles with a big inflatable raft strapped between them.

Hack

An expedient, temporary solution, such as a small patch or change to code, meant to be replaced with a more elegant solution at a later date; a workaround.
Valleysoft released a hack yesterday to fix the "crashes when more than 50 recipients" bug for people who need it right away. The company says its next release will also solve this as well as add new features.

Hack

A computer programmer who makes quick but inelegant changes to computer code to solve problems or add features.
Tsang is great but Zhou is such a hack — I wouldn't want him on my project.

Hack

A computer programmer, particularly a veteran or someone not immediately expected to be capable of programming.
Terry wrote that module? I didn't know she was a hack too!

Hack

An interesting technical achievement, particularly in computer programming.
Flugensoft came out with a neat hack last week that allows your watch to warm up your car if it's below freezing outside.

Hack

(colloquial) A trick, shortcut, skill, or novelty method to increase productivity, efficiency, or ease.
Putting your phone in a sandwich bag when you go to the beach is such a great hack.

Hack

An illegal attempt to gain access to a computer network.

Hack

A video game or any computer software that has been altered from its original state.

Hack

Time check, as for example upon synchronization of wristwatches.

Hack

(ice hockey) The act of striking an opponent with one's hockey stick, typically on the leg but occasionally and more seriously on the back, arm, head, etc.
Zersky is still down after that nasty hack by Lenner.

Hack

(baseball) A swing of the bat at a pitched ball by the batter, particularly a choppy, ungraceful one that misses the ball such as at a fastball.
And Melnick goes down with one last hack at an O'Malley fastball.

Hack

A kick on the shins in football of any type.
Wales are awarded a free kick after a minor hack by Järvinen on Llewellyn.

Hack

Confinement of an officer to their stateroom as a punishment.

Hack

An airplane of poor quality or in poor condition.

Hack

(falconry) A board which the falcon's food is placed on; used by extension for the state of partial freedom in which they are kept before being trained.

Hack

A food-rack for cattle.

Hack

A rack used to dry something, such as bricks, fish, or cheese.

Hack

A grating in a mill race.

Hack

A horse for hire, especially one which is old and tired.

Hack

A person, often a journalist, hired to do routine work.
I got by on hack work for years before I finally published my novel.

Hack

(pejorative) Someone who is available for hire; hireling, mercenary.

Hack

(slang) A taxicab (hackney cab) driver.

Hack

A vehicle let for hire; originally, a hackney coach, now typically a taxicab.

Hack

A hearse.

Hack

An untalented writer.
Dason is nothing but a two-bit hack.
He's nothing but the typical hack writer.

Hack

(pejorative) One who is professionally successful despite producing mediocre work. (Usually applied to persons in a creative field.)

Hack

(pejorative) A talented writer-for-hire, paid to put others' thoughts into felicitous language.

Hack

A political agitator.

Hack

A person who frequently canvasses for votes, either directly or by appearing to continuously act with the ulterior motive of furthering their political career.

Hack

(obsolete) A writer who hires himself out for any sort of literary work; an overworked man; a drudge.

Hack

(obsolete) A procuress.

Hack

A small ball usually made of woven cotton or suede and filled with rice, sand or some other filler, for use in hackeysack.

Hack

A frame or grating of various kinds; as, a frame for drying bricks, fish, or cheese; a rack for feeding cattle; a grating in a mill race, etc.

Hack

Unburned brick or tile, stacked up for drying.

Hack

A notch; a cut.

Hack

An implement for cutting a notch; a large pick used in breaking stone.

Hack

A hacking; a catch in speaking; a short, broken cough.

Hack

A kick on the shins, or a cut from a kick.

Hack

A clever computer program or routine within a program to accomplish an objective in a non-obvious fashion.

Hack

A quick and inelegant, though functional solution to a programming problem.

Hack

A taxicab.

Hack

A horse, hackneyed or let out for common hire; also, a horse used in all kinds of work, or a saddle horse, as distinguished from hunting and carriage horses.

Hack

A coach or carriage let for hire; a hackney coach; formerly, a coach with two seats inside facing each other; now, usually a taxicab.
On horse, on foot, in hacks and gilded chariots.

Hack

The driver of a hack; a taxi driver; a hackman.

Hack

A bookmaker who hires himself out for any sort of literary work; an overworked man; a drudge.
Here lies poor Ned Purdon, from misery freed,Who long was a bookseller's hack.

Hack

A procuress.

Hack

To cut irregulary, without skill or definite purpose; to notch; to mangle by repeated strokes of a cutting instrument; as, to hack a post.
My sword hacked like a handsaw.

Hack

Fig.: To mangle in speaking.

Hack

To program (a computer) for pleasure or compulsively; especially, to try to defeat the security systems and gain unauthorized access to a computer.

Hack

To bear, physically or emotionally; as, he left the job because he couldn't hack the pressure.

Hack

To kick the shins of (an opposing payer).

Hack

To cough faintly and frequently, or in a short, broken manner; as, a hacking cough.

Hack

To ride or drive as one does with a hack horse; to ride at an ordinary pace, or over the roads, as distinguished from riding across country or in military fashion.

Hack

To use as a hack; to let out for hire.

Hack

To use frequently and indiscriminately, so as to render trite and commonplace.
The word "remarkable" has been so hacked of late.

Hack

To be exposed or offered to common use for hire; to turn prostitute.

Hack

To live the life of a drudge or hack.

Hack

Hackneyed; hired; mercenary.

Hack

One who works hard at boring tasks

Hack

A politician who belongs to a small clique that controls a political party for private rather than public ends

Hack

A mediocre and disdained writer

Hack

A tool (as a hoe or pick or mattock) used for hacking the soil

Hack

A car driven by a person whose job is to take passengers where they want to go in exchange for money

Hack

An old or over-worked horse

Hack

A horse kept for hire

Hack

A saddle horse used for transportation rather than sport etc.

Hack

Cut with a hacking tool

Hack

Informal: be able to manage or manage successfully;
I can't hack it anymore
She could not cut the long days in the office

Hack

Cut away;
He hacked with way through the forest

Hack

Kick on the arms

Hack

Kick on the shins

Hack

Fix a computer program piecemeal until it works;
I'm not very good at hacking but I'll give it my best

Hack

Significantly cut up a manuscript

Hack

Cough spasmodically;
The patient with emphysema is hacking all day

Common Curiosities

Can hacking be legal?

Yes, when it's used in the context of ethical hacking, which involves authorized testing of systems to improve security.

What measures can prevent hijacking?

Enhanced security protocols, personnel training, and physical security measures can help prevent hijacking.

What is the main difference between hacking and hijacking?

Hacking typically involves breaching digital systems to access or manipulate data, while hijacking involves taking physical control over vehicles or systems often using force.

How do hackers gain access to systems?

Hackers exploit security vulnerabilities in software or use phishing tactics to gain unauthorized access to systems.

What is vehicle hijacking?

Vehicle hijacking refers to the act of unlawfully seizing control of a vehicle, usually under threat or force.

Is hacking always intended to be harmful?

Not necessarily. While hacking is often associated with malicious intent, such as data theft or system disruption, it can also be used positively in ethical hacking, where security vulnerabilities are identified and fixed.

What are common targets for hijackers?

Common targets for hijackers include airplanes, buses, and ships, but hijacking can also occur with less typical targets like network signals and online platforms.

What legal consequences do hackers and hijackers face?

Both hackers and hijackers can face severe legal penalties including imprisonment. The severity often depends on the extent of the damage, the intent, and the specific laws violated in the jurisdiction where the acts were committed.

How do cyber security measures differ between preventing hacking and preventing hijacking?

Cyber security measures against hacking often focus on software solutions, encryption, and network security protocols. In contrast, preventing hijacking, particularly of physical assets like vehicles, usually involves physical security measures, personnel training, and sometimes specialized equipment.

Can both hacking and hijacking be conducted by state-sponsored actors?

Yes, both hacking and hijacking can be executed by state-sponsored actors as forms of cyber warfare or to exert control, influence, or disrupt in geopolitical contexts.

Share Your Discovery

Share via Social Media
Embed This Content
Embed Code
Share Directly via Messenger
Link
Previous Comparison
Masonry vs. Bricklaying
Next Comparison
Win vs. Won

Author Spotlight

Written by
Fiza Rafique
Fiza Rafique is a skilled content writer at AskDifference.com, where she meticulously refines and enhances written pieces. Drawing from her vast editorial expertise, Fiza ensures clarity, accuracy, and precision in every article. Passionate about language, she continually seeks to elevate the quality of content for readers worldwide.
Tayyaba Rehman is a distinguished writer, currently serving as a primary contributor to askdifference.com. As a researcher in semantics and etymology, Tayyaba's passion for the complexity of languages and their distinctions has found a perfect home on the platform. Tayyaba delves into the intricacies of language, distinguishing between commonly confused words and phrases, thereby providing clarity for readers worldwide.

Popular Comparisons

Trending Comparisons

New Comparisons

Trending Terms