What Is Ethical Hacking: An ethical hack is an authorized attempt to gain unauthorized access to a computer system, application or data. Ethical hacking is the imitation of the methods and actions of harmful attackers. This method helps detect security flaws that can be corrected before malicious hackers can exploit them.
Ethical hackers sometimes referred to as “white hats”, are cyber security experts who conduct these assessments. They play an essential role in enhancing the security status of an organization by doing proactive work. Ethical hacking has a
What is Ethical Hacking?
different goal than malicious hacking. This is done with prior authorization from the organization or the owner of the IT asset.
An ethical hacker is a professional who enters systems and networks using the same knowledge and tools as a malicious hacker but without any malicious intent. Ethical hacking is important because it allows businesses to identify potential threats to their systems before they become a real problem.
Tutorials Freak is an organization that offers you various IT Security programs like Information Technology Security and Governance (ITSA), Cyber Security Specialist (CSS), Cyber Security Engineer (CSE) Is. , and associate of applied science in network administration and cyber security. In addition to helping you become a certified ethical hacker, these programs will prepare you to earn top IT certifications from organizations such as Microsoft, CompTIA, Cisco, and Linux.
This blog post will discuss ethical hacking, what ethical hackers do, what skills are required for ethical hacking, and more!
What are the key elements of ethical hacking?
When it comes to ethical hacking, there are several key protocol elements that they need to follow. This includes:
Staying within legal limits – Ethical hackers are required to obtain approval before carrying out cyber security procedures and assessments. Secondly, ethical hackers need to define the scope of their system security testing to stay within both the legal limits and the limits set by the organization.
Reporting Existing Security Vulnerabilities – A white hat hacker is required to notify the company of the vulnerabilities found during their evaluation. They should also provide remedial instructions for these issues.
Respecting Data Sensitivity – When it comes to data sensitivity, ethical hackers may be asked to sign non-disclosure agreements as well as other terms and requirements set by the company reviewed.
What are the skills and certifications required for ethical hacking?
Those who wish to become an ethical hacker must have a strong knowledge of ethical hacking principles. They will also need to obtain the appropriate certifications, which are known as the Ethical Hacking Protection Suite. This includes being a Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH), Advanced Penetration Testing Specialist or EC-Council Licensed Security Analyst (ECSA). If you want to learn ethical hacking then learn the full Ethical Hacking tutorial by Tutorials Freak.
Not all ethical hackers go through this certification process to do their job successfully. However, it does help those who wish to improve their skills to gain employment within organizations that regularly use ethical hacking practices.
Generally speaking, ethical hackers possess a wide range of computer and ethical hacking skills.
- Experience in scripting languages.
- Proficiency in working with different operating systems.
- Full understanding of networking.
- A solid foundation in information security.
What are the stages of ethical hacking?
Ethical hacking detects security vulnerabilities in a program, system, or organization’s infrastructure that an attacker can use to cause harm. They do this process to protect against cyber attacks and security breaches by legally breaking into systems and discovering weak spots. An ethical hacker follows the steps and thought process of a malicious attacker (black hat hacker or unethical hacker) to gain authorized access and evaluate a company’s defences.
Both attackers and ethical hackers use a five-step hacking process to break into a network or system. The ethical hacking approach starts with attempting to hack into the system through various methods, finding gaps in the system, maintaining constant access to the system and finally erasing one’s footprints.
The five stages of ethical hacking are as follows:
Reconnaissance
The reconnaissance, footprint or information gathering phase is the first of ethical hacking processes. The purpose of this initial phase is to collect as much data as possible. Before launching an attack, the attacker collects all the important information of the target.
The data may be filled with username and password, along with other important information about the staff. An attacker collects data by downloading an entire website with tools like HTTPTrack to collect information about a specific person, or using a search engine like Maltego to research a person through various links, job profiles, news, etc. Can do.
The reconnaissance, footprint or information gathering phase is the first of ethical hacking processes. The purpose of this initial phase is to collect as much data as possible. Before launching an attack, the attacker collects all the important information of the target.
The data may be filled with username and password, along with other important information about the staff. An attacker collects data by downloading an entire website with tools like HTTPTrack to collect information about a specific person, or using a search engine like Maltego to research a person through various links, job profiles, news, etc. Can do.
Reconnaissance is an essential stage of ethical hacking. It helps to identify which attacks can be launched and how likely the organization’s systems are to be vulnerable to those attacks.
This process collects data from a variety of locations, including:
- TCP and UDP Services
- Various weaknesses
- Unique IP address
- Network Host
Scanning
The second step in the process is scanning, during which attackers seek to discover as many ways as possible to gain access to the target’s data. The attacker searches for information such as user accounts, passwords, IP addresses, etc. This aspect of ethical hacking is looking for quick and simple ways to get on the network and skim for data. Check out the full ethical hacking tutorial for beginners to advance.
Scanning is the stage in which data and documents are checked. During scanning, tools like dialer, port scanner, network mapper, sweeper and vulnerability cleaner are used to check the data and records.
Gain access
The next step in the hacker’s process is to use every opportunity to gain illegal access to the target’s system, application or network. To gain access to and enter a system, an attacker can use a number of tools and techniques. This hacking stage tries to break into the system and exploit it by downloading harmful software or applications, stealing sensitive data, gaining illegal access, requesting ransom money, etc.
At the same time, an ethical hacker or penetration tester can secure potential entry points, ensure that all systems and applications are password protected, and protect network infrastructure with firewalls. They may send fake social engineering emails to staff members to find out who is more vulnerable to cybercrime.
Maintain access
The White Hat makes every effort to maintain access once it has gained access to a target’s system. In this phase, the ethical hacker exploits the system, performs DDoS attacks, uses the subjugated system as a launchpad, or steals the entire database.
Backdoors and Trojans are programs that are used to enter a vulnerable system and steal passwords, required documents and other data. The purpose of the intruder is to maintain their illegal access during the rest of the operation in order to carry out their malicious activities without being discovered by the user.
This phase allows ethical hackers to scan the entire organization’s infrastructure for the source of malicious activities and their underlying causes, thereby not exploiting the system.
Hide your Tracks
The final stage of ethical hacking involves clearing one’s tracks as an attacker would like to avoid being caught. This step ensures that the attacker does not leave behind any traceable evidence. This is important because ethical hackers must keep their connection to the system without suspecting the incident response or the forensic team.
The attacker configures the malware to delete, tamper with, or modify log and registry values. The intruder also removes folders, applications and software and restores the changed files to their original value.
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