A permitted attempt to acquire unauthorized access to a computer system, application, or data constitutes ethical hacking. An ethical hack entails copying the tactics and behaviours of hostile attackers. This procedure aids in locating security flaws that can subsequently be fixed before a malicious attacker has a chance to take advantage of them.
Ethical hackers, also referred to as "white hats," are security professionals who carry out these security assessments. They contribute to strengthening an organization's security posture through their proactive activities. The goal of ethical hacking is different from malicious hacking because it is done with permission from the Organisation or owner of the IT asset.
Terrorist organisations fund hackers to penetrate security systems at the start of international conflicts, either to damage national security features or to extort large sums of money by introducing malware and withholding access. Resulting in the steady rise of cybercrime. Businesses must update their hack-prevention strategies and implement a number of technologies to safeguard their systems before being compromised by hackers. To protect the networks of companies, governmental organizations, or the military from new worms, malware, viruses, and ransomware, ethical hacking services are becoming more and more necessary.
Benefits of Ethical Hacking:
The main advantages of ethical hacking include:
· Preventing the theft and misuse of data by malicious attackers
· Finding vulnerabilities from the attacker's perspective so that weak points can be repaired.
· Putting in place a secure network to stop security breaches.
· Defending data from terrorists to defend national security.
· Assuring the security of their products and data in order to win over clients and investors.
· Providing practical evaluations to assist with network protection.
Types of Ethical Hacking:
Following are the types of ethical hacking.
Web Application Hacking: Web hacking is the process of using the visual chrome browser, tampering with the URI, or collaborating with HTTP features not stored in the URI to exploit software over HTTP.
· System hacking: Through the use of a network, hacktivists can access personal computers. IT security professionals can utilise packet sniffing, privilege escalation, password cracking, and other defensive techniques to counteract these dangers.
· Web Server Hacking: Real-time online content is produced by a server running application software and databases. In order to steal credentials, passcodes, and corporate information from the web application, attackers employ social engineering tactics, ping deluge assaults, port scans, sniffing attacks, and attaching.
· Hacking Wireless Networks: Wireless networks employ radio waves to convey information, making it simple for hackers to access the system from a nearby place. These attackers frequently employ network sniffing in order to find the Identifier and bodge a wireless network.
· Social Engineering: Social engineering is the practise of influencing large populations to reveal private information. Criminals utilise eugenics because it is typically simpler to target your natural difficulty trusting than it is to figure out how to spoof your gadget.
Phases of Ethical Hacking:
The practise of finding weaknesses in a system, application, or organization's infrastructure that a hacker could use to take advantage of someone or something is known as ethical hacking. By lawfully breaking into the networks and searching for vulnerabilities, they employ this approach to stop cyberattacks and security breaches. To acquire access and evaluate the organization's network and strategies, an ethical hacker imitates the actions and mental processes of a malevolent attacker.
The same five-step hacking procedure is used by both attackers and ethical hackers to compromise networks and systems. The first step in the ethical hacking process is to look for different ways to break into the system. The next steps involve exploiting weaknesses, retaining constant access to the system, and finally, covering one's tracks.
The five phases of ethical hacking are:
Reconnaissance: Reconnaissance, also referred to as the information gathering phase or the footprint, is the first step in the ethical hacking approach. The aim of this phase of preparation is to gather as much data as possible. The attacker gathers all the essential data about the target before launching an attack. Passwords, personnel information, and other crucial facts are probably included in the data. An attacker can obtain the data by downloading an entire website using tools like HTTP Track to learn more about a person, or by using search engines like Maltego to look up information on a person through numerous links, employment profiles, news, etc.
The reconnaissance stage of ethical hacking is crucial. It aids in determining the potential targets of attacks and the likelihood that the organisation's systems may be exposed to them.
Foot printing gathers information from sources like:
· TCP and UDP services
· Vulnerabilities
· Through particular IP addresses
· A network's host
There are two types of footprinting in ethical hacking:
Active: Using Nmap tools to scan the target's network, this footprinting technique directly collects data from the target.
Passive: The second footprinting technique gathers data without having any direct contact with the target. Attackers or moral hackers may gather the information through public websites, social media accounts, etc.
Scanning: In the second stage of the hacking process, called scanning, the attackers look for various ways to obtain the target's information. The intruder searches for data like user accounts, login credentials, IP addresses, etc. The goal of this ethical hacking phase is to find quick and simple ways to log into the network and search for data. During the scanning phase, tools including dialers, port scanners, network mappers, sweepers, and vulnerability scanners are used to scan data and records.
Four main kinds of scanning techniques are employed in ethical hacking methods, and they are as follows:
Vulnerability Scanning: Vulnerability scanning is the technique of identifying a target's weak points and vulnerabilities and attempting to attack those weaknesses in a variety of methods. Automated technologies like Netsparker, OpenVAS, Nmap, etc. are used to carry it out.
Port Scanning: Port scanning is the process of listening to open TCP and UDP ports, operating services, and active systems on the target host utilising port scanners, dialers, and other data-gathering tools or applications. This scanning is used by penetration testers and attackers to locate open systems access points.
Network Scanning: Network scanning is a technique used to investigate ways to exploit networks and identify active devices on a network. It might be a corporate network with a single network connecting all employee systems. Network scanning is a technique used by ethical hackers to fortify a company's network by locating openings and weaknesses.
Gaining Access: The next stage of hacking is when an attacker employs all available tools to gain unauthorised access to the target's networks, systems, or applications. A system can be accessed and entered by an attacker using a variety of tools and techniques. The goal of this hacking phase is to gain access to the system and use it for nefarious purposes, such as by downloading malicious software or applications, stealing confidential data, gaining unauthorised access, demanding ransom, etc. One of the most popular access-gaining tools is Metasploit, and social engineering is a widely utilised attack to take advantage of a victim.
The network infrastructure can be safeguarded via a firewall, all systems and applications can be made password-protected, and potential entry points can be secured by ethical hackers and penetration testers. They can determine which employees are most susceptible to hacks by sending them phony social engineering emails.
Maintaining Access: Once the attacker gains access to the target's system, they make every effort to keep it that way. The hacker repeatedly assaults the system throughout this phase, executing DDoS attacks, using the hijacked system as a launching pad, or stealing the entire database. Trojans and backdoors are programmes used to take advantage of a system's vulnerability and steal login information, crucial data, and more. The attacker's goal at this stage is to maintain their unauthorised access while carrying out their destructive activities covertly.
To prevent the systems from being hacked, ethical hackers or penetration testers might make use of this step by scanning the entire organisation's infrastructure for malicious activity and determining its source.
Clearing Track: Since no hacker wants to get caught, the final stage of ethical hacking requires hackers to cover their tracks. This phase makes sure that the attackers don't leave any traces or signs that could be used to identify them. It is essential because ethical hackers must continue to connect to the system without being detected by incident response or the forensics team. Editing, distorting, or erasing logs or registry values are included. Additionally, the attacker destroys or removes directories, programmes, and software, or makes sure that the modified files can be traced back to their original value.
The following techniques can be used by ethical hackers in ethical hacking to cover their tracks:
· Reverse HTTP Shells usage
· Cache and history removal to remove the digital footprint
· The utilisation of ICMP (Internet Control Message Protocol) tunnels
These are the five steps of the hacking process that ethical hackers or penetration testers might employ to locate possible openings for cyberattacks, detect and identify vulnerabilities, and mitigate security breaches to secure the companies.
Courses:
A joint venture between Netsoft Technologies and iSolution Software Systems Pvt. Ltd., the Indian School of Ethical Hacking seeks to impart comprehensive IT security knowledge to its students. A 15-day training for the same is also available from Pune's Arizona Infotech. So if navigating firewalls and leaping through internet hoops makes your heart race, this is the effective solution.
This is a great method to utilise those gray cells for anyone who enjoys "fun" hacking friends' social media accounts, is skilled at breaking codes and opening locked systems, or spends the majority of their time playing with different codes. You may evade computer system security and get paid for it!
For numerous security reasons, a lot of large corporations hunt for ethical hackers. You must be well-versed in coding in several programming languages. You can begin your career as an intern for a company and later transition into a permanent position. After five or six years of experience, depending on your skills, you can easily command a salary of Rs. 10–12 lakhs per year. The average salary for a new employee is between Rs. 2 and 5 lakhs.
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