Ethical Hackers: Their Mission and Importance

When you think of a “hacker,” you probably picture someone who enjoys breaking into computer systems. Someone who knows how to move within and out of places to get the information and data they require or desire. Many people work as hackers, and businesses pay them to figure out how a criminal could hack into their computer system. These people are known as ethical hackers.

Ethical hackers are tasked with determining how a typical criminal hacker could break into a company’s computer systems. Research on ethical hacking shows it is a growing discipline for computer enthusiasts. However, you do not need a diploma or degree to participate. However, anyone interested in ethical hacking is thought to benefit from having some post-secondary education.

What exactly is ethical hacking?

Ethical hacking is defined as hacking performed by an individual or company to identify potential security threats within an organization’s computer network. The ethical hacker then works on the information obtained to address potential threats and strengthen the computer network when necessary.

However, for hacking to be considered ethical, it must satisfy the criteria as follows:

• You must have written or verbal permission to probe the company’s network and identify any security risks.
• You value the privacy of the organization or individual.
• You protect the task you were working on to avoid being at risk from potential security threats.
• Unless the company knows about the threats, you report any perceived security risks to the hardware manufacturer and software developer.

Importance of Ethical Hacking

“Data” is now the biggest asset of any business. Therefore, any business’s priority is ensuring its data is safe and sound. Whether we look at private or public companies, the amount of data generated daily is enormous. So there is a very high chance that hackers, cyberterrorist groups, or even other criminals will target their sensitive data. Organizations now have to adopt preventive security steps to ensure the data is safe and secure because of the risk of being hacked.

Regardless of the company’s size, organizations worldwide must take proactive measures like updating security regularly since hackers constantly look for new ways to get past firewalls. White hat or ethical hackers have created a brand-new safety technique. To evaluate the organization’s security measures, they conduct pen tests. Simply said, they break into the organization’s networks and give in-depth information regarding the company’s level of security.

This raises their level of alertness and lowers the chance of actual threats like data theft by assisting the organization in understanding the hacker’s approach. We can also improve our security measures by learning more about how hackers might behave. Each of these allows the business to operate with the assurance that the walls constructed for its data security are sufficiently thick and sturdy.

The Mission of an Ethical Hacker

An ethical hacker constantly scans for the strengths and weaknesses of a company’s network. The ultimate mission of ethical hackers is to keep companies’ data safe. Your love for security and problem-solving makes you the ideal candidate to work as an ethical hacker. Ethical hackers use penetration testing to stop security breaches before they happen. It does not only protect an organization’s network and data. The increase in compensation is another great benefit, but you must have strong hacking abilities for this.

Type of Ethical Hackers

Ethical hacking comes in many forms. It is possible to hack almost every aspect of a system, but doing so requires an in-depth understanding of each component. Let’s look at the many types of ethical hacking.

1. Social Engineering

It is a method that hackers use to trick people and learn more about the company or its computer systems. To safeguard their networks, IT security experts need to be familiar with the theory of social engineering. Who might be a target, for example? Additionally, how are social engineering attacks modified?

2. Web Service Hacking

Although the main goal is to test the server and find its software vulnerabilities, the ethical hacker does this to take unauthorized control of a web server. They gather data about the pertinent target, which entails locating the target machine and collecting information on its IP address, operating system, hardware, network setup, and infrastructure, among other things.

3. System Hacking

Hackers discover ways to obtain access to specific computers on a network through system hacking. It gives ethical hackers the ability to recognize, stop, and defend against these kinds of attacks.

4. Web Application Hacking

A program that users access over a network is known as a web application. Web application hacking is used when an application is attacked via HTTP. It can be accomplished in one of two ways: by simply changing the URI or HTTP components that are not contained in the URI, or by manipulating the application through a graphical web interface.

5. Hacking Wireless Network

Wireless sniffing is another name for wireless hacking. The process known as sniffing is gathering and keeping track of all wireless packets coming from a specific network. Passwords for FTP, email, and chat sessions can all be sniffed. One can place their W90 interface in monitor mode, for instance, if only a few clients (monitors) are connected to a single access point so that they can sniff all wireless traffic to it.

Benefits of Ethical Hacking

The main advantage of ethical hacking is that it stops malicious intruders from stealing and misusing data. Below are others:

• Ethical hacking is best for finding weaknesses from an attacker’s perspective so that weaknesses can be corrected.
• They can put in place a secure network to stop security breaches.
• To shield data from terrorists to defend national security.
• Securing their goods and data to win investors’ and customers’ trust.
• Real-world analyses that assist in network protection.

Conclusion

Ethical hacking improves computer and network security and makes it possible to take preventative action in case of a security breach. Last but not least, I’d like to make a note of the fact that, according to CyberGhost, there is a huge demand for ethical hackers due to the many advantages they provide.