We often hear the term ‘Ethical Hacking’ in trending courses nowadays. What exactly is ethical hacking? What are the career opportunities in this field, and what will your job be as an ethical hacker? Let’s find answers to all these questions in this article.

What is Ethical Hacking/ Penetration testing?

Think of ethical hacking as a controlled attack on your own systems. Ethical hackers are the good guys who use the same methods as bad actors, but with a critical difference: their goal is to find and fix weaknesses before anyone can exploit them.

What are the steps of a penetration test?

Ethical hacking follows a specific process, typically involving these steps:

1. Scoping: This is like planning the attack. Ethical hackers and the organization agree on what systems and vulnerabilities to test.
2. Identification: Here, the ethical hacker finds potential weaknesses using various tools and techniques.
3. Validation: Not everything that looks like a weakness is one! This step confirms if the identified vulnerability is real.
4. Measuring Impact: Imagine a broken window – how big of a deal is it? Ethical hackers assess the potential damage if the vulnerability is exploited.
5. Prioritization: Fixing everything at once is unrealistic. This step prioritizes vulnerabilities based on severity and ease of fixing.
6. Fixing: The real work begins! The organization addresses the identified vulnerabilities to improve their security posture.

Essential Terms to Know

• Vulnerability Assessment: This covers everything from scoping to prioritization, basically finding the weaknesses.
• Vulnerability Management: This includes fixing the weaknesses identified during the assessment.
• Red team: Focuses on the offensive side, conducts penetration tests.
• Blue team: Focuses on the defensive side, Secures and monitors the systems.
• White team: Consists of management, makes decisions on the overall conduct of the teams.

What You Should Learn to Become an Ethical Hacker?

• Basic Networking: Understanding how data travels online is crucial. You don’t need to be a network engineer, but grasp the basics of how information gets from point A to point B.
• Basic Programming: Knowing how to write simple scripts can automate tasks and make ethical hacking more efficient.
• System Administration: Familiarity with operating systems like Linux and Windows, especially using the terminal, is a plus.
• Cybersecurity Principles: Understanding common threats and how to defend against them is essential.

Ethical Hacking Tools: You need to learn

• Nmap: Imagine a tool that scans your house for open doors and windows. Nmap does the same for computer systems, finding open ports that could be vulnerabilities.
• Wireshark: This tool acts like a net capturing all the traffic flowing through a network. Ethical hackers can use it to analyze data packets and identify weaknesses.
• OpenVAS & Nessus: These are vulnerability scanners that automatically identify potential weaknesses in systems.
• Burp Suite: Think of this as a middleman for your web traffic. Ethical hackers can use Burp Suite to intercept and analyze data flowing between your browser and a website, looking for vulnerabilities.
• John the Ripper: This tool is used to crack passwords. Ethical hackers might use it to test password strength and identify weak passwords that could be easily compromised.

Ethical Hacking: Relevant certifications

• CEH (Certified Ethical Hacker): A popular certification that validates your knowledge of ethical hacking methodologies.
• OSCP (Offensive Security Certified Professional): A hands-on certification that tests your practical ethical hacking skills.

Ready to Start Your Ethical Hacking Journey?

Ethical hacking is a fascinating field that offers a rewarding career path. By understanding the concepts, essential tools, and recommended learning paths, you can take the first steps towards becoming an ethical hacker and helping to make the digital world a safer place.

Keep in mind: This is a simplified overview. Ethical hacking is a complex field, but hopefully, this blog gives you a good starting point!