Ethical Hacker : A Complete Guide In 6 Steps

ย Introductionย 

Ethical Hacker, also known as a White Hat Hacker or a Penetration Tester is a term used for specialized computerย programmers, who break into computer systems or businesses legally, with the motive of finding bugs, security threats, and vulnerabilities. ย ย 

With the ever-increasing popularity of the internet and e-commerce,ย cyber-crimeย is expected to cost the world $6 trillion by 2021.ย Computer systems and businesses are forever in the threat of hacking and data breaches.ย The ethical hacker is therefore hired by organizations with the aim of investigating their computer systems and networks for weaknesses to withstand attacks in a better way.ย 

  1. Who is an Ethical Hacker?
  2. Career
  3. Tools
  4. Hacker vs. Ethical Hacker
  5. Role
  6. Responsibility

1) Who is an Ethical Hacker?ย 

It is essential to understandย what is ethical hackingย to find outย who is an ethical hacker. Organizations these days are using hacking as a precautionary measure, toย identifyย bugs and expose chinks in their computer systems, to best protect their systems from cyber-attacks. They hire highly trained professionals and legally allow them to break into their systems, to find vulnerabilities within. This process of breaking into systems legallyย in order toย safeguard them is called ethical hacking.ย 

Ethical hacker meaning: An ethical hacker is a highly specialized computer programmer with in-depth knowledge of programming,ย scripting,ย and networking skills. The person should also have a keen understanding of databases,ย expertiseย in working in multiple platforms or operating systems, and the ability to work with different hacking tools at hand.ย ย 

2) Careerย ย 

Aย career in ethical hackingย is quite lucrative, especially in todayโ€™s world whereย one business falls victim to ransomware every 11 seconds. Cybercrime and data breaches are a threat that companies and even governments face on a regular basis, sometimes even putting their reputations at stake.ย Thatโ€™sย the reason ethical hackers have become such a vital part of businesses and the career is in-demand and much sought after by techies.ย 

International Council of Electronic Commerce Consultants (EC-Council) offers Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) certification, where a candidateย has toย apply techniques and use penetration testing tools in a virtual environment to compromise simulated systems. Like all other IT jobs, an ethical hacker needs soft skills in addition to technicalย know-how. Exceptional problem-solving skills,ย great communicationย skills and strong work ethics with keen motivation and dedication to complete the task are also essential.ย ย 

3) Toolsย ย 

Variousย ethical hacker toolsย are used by white hats to gather information, breaking passwords, creating backdoors and payloads, and an array of other such activities. With automation taking a front role in all realms,ย the ethical hacker definitionย has also taken up a new meaning. Several tools to pace up ethical hacking are hitting the market every year. Some widely used tools used by theย best ethical hackers in the worldย are:ย 

  • Nmap (Network Mapper)ย ย 
  • Acunetixย 
  • Metasploitย 
  • Nessusย 
  • Niktoย 
  • Kismetย 
  • NetStumblerย 
  • Wiresharkย ย 
  • Canvasย 
  • SQLninjaย 

All these tools go a long way inย armoringย an ethical hacker in the pursuit to safeguard companies byย identifyingย possible shortcomingsย in internet security and prevent data breaches.ย 

4) Hacker vs Ethical Hackerย 

The term hacker was coined in the 1960s, when computer system security was breached for the first time in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA. Since then, the term has evolved and expanded widely in its scope. Hacking isย basically breakingย into a computer or computer system by finding its vulnerabilities, with malicious intent. ย Hacking is illegal and the consequences of getting caught are severe.ย ย 

Aย skilled programmerย who indulges in the hacking process to gain unauthorized access into computer systems by exploiting weaknesses or using bugs, motivated either by malice or mischief, is called a Hacker. Hackers are primarily of two types: Black hat hackers (with malicious intent) and White hat hackers (prevent black hat hackers from takingย advantage ofย vulnerabilities in the system).ย 

The differences between aย hacker vs ethical hackerย are minute but vast. Although both seek out to break the system but the intention of doing so is what makes them poles apart.ย 

Hacker/ Black Hat Hackerย ย  Ethical Hacker/ White Hat Hackerย 
Violates computer security for personal or monetary gains or aided by maliciousnessย  Use the same techniques used by hackers to fixย discrepanciesย in the systemย 
Illegalย  Legitimate and legalย 
Neither own the system they break into nor are hired by the system ownersย  Employed by organizations to detect vulnerabilities in their systemย 

5) Roleย ย 

Theย role of an ethical hackerย in any organization is of supreme importance. A good ethical hacker knows the importance of having a security system and adheres to all ethical guidelines while breaking into systems. The major roles played by ethical hackers in any business are:ย 

  • Must seek all due approvals before performing any security assessment on the companyโ€™s computer network.ย 
  • Run security checks in the system using various tools to check for weaknesses,ย malpractices,ย andย discrepancies.ย ย 
  • Report any weaknesses or vulnerabilities found to the companyโ€™s management.ย 
  • The role of an ethical hacker is very confidential and any security breaches discovered must be kept confidential.ย 
  • Secure the system and make it stringent to not get affected byย cyber-attacks.ย 
  • Erase all traces of the hack after finding loopholes and fixingย them. This prevents hackers from breaking into the systems.ย 

6) Responsibilityย ย 

Ethical hacking is a very demanding and responsible profession. The soleย onusย of defending a corporate network lies on ethical hackers. The keyย responsibility of an ethical hackerย lies inย identifyingย vulnerability in a system network including:ย 

  • Injection attacks and other changes in security settingsย 
  • Exposure of sensitive data to malicious software or hackersย 
  • Breach in authentication protocols of the systemย 

To partake in their duties effectively, they must have programming and scripting knowledge, strong networking skills, knowledge of search engines, services, multiple platforms/ operatingย systems,ย andย expertiseย in the latest hacking tools.ย ย 

Conclusionย ย 

If one has the prowess to understand computer systems, catching viruses and malware tickles their sensibilities, and breaking into networks is something of a pass time, then becoming a penetration tester aka ethical hacker should be the career of choice for them.ย 

It is the best way to pursue aย hobby and turn it into a means of earning honestย livelihoodย at the same time.ย ย 

So, have you made up your mind to make a career in Cyber Security? Visit ourย Master Certificate in Cyber Security (Red Team)ย for further help. It is the first program in offensive technologies in India and allows learners to practice in a real-time simulated ecosystem, that will give you an edge in this competitive world.

Also Read

 

Related Articles

loader
Please wait while your application is being created.
Request Callback