While information leakage like this may not be necessarily dangerous, there are more nefarious actions that Netcat allows the attacker to perform, including opening backdoors and transferring files between systems. Netcat has an option to execute a program and pass input from the listener to the program.

Do hackers use netcat?

Most common use for Netcat when it comes to hacking is setting up reverse and bind shells, piping and redirecting network traffic, port listening, debugging programs and scripts and banner grabbing.

What can Netcat do?

Netcat functions as a back-end tool that allows for port scanning and port listening. In addition, you can actually transfer files directly through Netcat or use it as a backdoor into other networked systems.