What is ethical hacking ?
Table of Contents
What is hacking ?
Hacking is a process of identifying any potential weakness within a system, network or an application and exploiting that weakness to get unauthorized access, disrupting, destroying, stealing, leaking or damaging. It can either used in good way (penetration testing) of bad way (cybercrime).
What is ethical hacking ?
Ethical hacking also known as penetration testing, is practice of securing systems, applications and networks legally with permissions. It is used to find the potential vulnerabilities to fix them before an attacker can exploit them.
Skills to become an ethical hacker
There are a lot of fields within cybersecurity, each field have their own skill set like: specific programming language, tools, Operating systems, approaches. Some skills are listed below :
- Quick adaption
"Stay up to date" You should keep yourself updated with the current situations and trends. Adapt new tools, technologies, TTPs as early as you can.
- Consistent
"Consistency is the key" Stay consistent with your field, a gap of months can make a lot of changes. Stay consistent with work, what you study for, stay loyal with yourself.
- Curiosity
"Curiosity keeps you alive" Cybersecurity is the field for curious people who wants to know how a particular system works, all possible ways to do a job. You must have eager to explore the things.
- Practical
Learn Practically, enjoy solving challenges from your field of interest. Practical knowledge are more valuable and it stays longer. Get your hands on each fields then choose one which looks more interesting to you . example: WEB, Cryptography, const first = useRef(second)
- WEB
Web is one of the most popular field, having more users and researchers. To become a web expert you have to get knowledge of networking, how websites works and common tools like: Burp suite
This educational website is created to keep you aware with the cybersecurity and to help you with awareness so that you never become a victim of a cybercrime. You can find different cybersecurity fun and interesting stuffs here. For educational purpose only
Who is a hacker ?
A hacker is an individual skilled in computer system, networking, and applications. They can find weaknesses within the systems and can exploit them.
There are various types of hackers by their motives. Types of Hackers
Importance of ethical hacking
Ethical hacking is very important to keep the digital environment safe and secure. Following are some of the key points which remind us the importance of ethical hacking.
- Identify vulnerability
Ethical hacking is used to identify potential vulnerability within system, network or application and helps in mitigation process.
- Educate staff
Ethical hackers can educate the staff for potential risks, threats and awareness from different attacks. Like phishing
- Ensuring Compliance
Ethical hacking can help to meet with the regulatory compliance of companies. It can help companies comply with standards like: GDPR, HIPAA etc.
- Reducing Financial Loss
Company with strong cybersecurity have less chances of data breaches, leakage which can cause fines and legal cases.
- Trust
Industry with strong cybersecurity have generally more trust of its users. When people see that business is taking cybersecurity more seriously then they trust it more.
- Continuous Improvement
Regular penetration test helps the organizations to stay secure from new threats.
- Incident Response
In case of any failure ethical hackers can help to identify and respond with the threat.
- Research
Cybersecurity researchers and ethical hackers helps to develop better tools, safe and secure security practices.
Summery
Hacking is a process of finding any vulnerability within systems, applications and networks and exploiting those vulnerabilities to achieve a goal. Goal can vary from personal to professional, fun to revenge etc. Ethical hacking is a part of this process where things are done with permissions with the goal to make systems more secure.
There are different types of hackers having their own motives. Ethical hacking is very important because it plays a major role to secure the system, by finding vulnerability first before attacker. It helps to run the organizations smoothly and securely.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is ethical hacking?➕
Ethical hacking, also known as penetration testing, is the practice of securing systems, applications, and networks legally with proper permissions. It involves identifying potential vulnerabilities to fix them before attackers can exploit them.
What skills do I need to become an ethical hacker?➕
Key skills include staying updated with current trends and tools, maintaining consistency in your field, having curiosity about how systems work, and gaining practical hands-on experience. You should also learn programming languages, operating systems, and tools relevant to your chosen specialization like web security or cryptography.
What is the difference between hacking and ethical hacking?➕
Hacking is the process of identifying weaknesses in systems and exploiting them, which can be used for good or bad purposes. Ethical hacking is the legal, authorized version where vulnerabilities are found and fixed with permission to improve security, rather than for malicious intent.
Why is ethical hacking important?➕
Ethical hacking is crucial for identifying vulnerabilities before attackers exploit them, helping organizations meet regulatory compliance (GDPR, HIPAA), reducing data breach risks, building user trust, and developing better security practices and tools.
What types of hackers exist?➕
There are various types of hackers differentiated by their motives. While the page mentions different categories exist, ethical hackers are those who work legally with permission to improve security, unlike malicious hackers who exploit systems for personal gain or harm.