Ethical hacking is the identification and exploitation of security vulnerabilities for the purpose of improving an organisation’s cyber security. Ethical hacking helps organisations improve their security status by uncovering exposures that are beneath the surface and providing support to address them.

An ethical hacker, also commonly referred to as a white hat hacker, is a cyber security professional entrusted to perform ethical hacking assessments. Certified ethical hackers possess a comprehensive understanding of the tactics and techniques that malicious ‘black hat’ attackers use and leverage this knowledge to ensure that ethical hacking assessments accurately reflect real-life adversarial approaches.

The purpose of ethical hacking is to evaluate the security of and identify vulnerabilities in systems, networks or system infrastructure. It includes finding and attempting to exploit any vulnerabilities to determine whether unauthorized access or other malicious activities are possible.

 

•Simulating attacks that could enter the network.

•Using information about the company found online to try to infiltrate the system.

•Testing the security of firewalls, routers and switches.

•Attempting to hack into the company's wireless network.

•Trying to manipulate employees into divulging sensitive information, known by hackers as social engineering.

•Testing the security of physical controls including key cards, doors, alarms or guards.
•Exploiting a company website to uncover security deficiencies.

    · Ethical Hacking − Ethical hacking involves finding weaknesses in a computer or network system for testing purpose and finally getting them fixed.

· Password Hacking − This is the process of recovering secret passwords from data that has been stored in or transmitted by a computer system.

·  Computer Hacking − This is the process of stealing computer ID and password by applying hacking methods and getting unauthorized access to a computer system.

·  Network Hacking − Hacking a network means gathering information about a network by using tools like Telnet, NS lookup, Ping, Tracert, Netstat, etc. with the intent to harm the network system and hamper its operation.

·  Email Hacking − It includes getting unauthorized access on an Email account and using it without taking the consent of its owner.

·  Website Hacking − Hacking a website means taking unauthorized control over a web server and its associated software such as databases and other interfaces.  

   

· To recover lost information, especially in case you lost your password.
br> · To perform penetration testing to strengthen computer and network security.

· To put adequate preventative measures in place to prevent security breaches.

· To have a computer system that prevents malicious hackers from gaining access.  

   
  · Hampering system operation.
·Denial of service attacks.
·Malicious attack on the system.
·Massive security breach.
·Unauthorized system access on private information.
·\Privacy violation.       ·Hampering privacy
·Money extortion
·System security testing
·To break policy compliance
·Just for fun
·Show-off
·Steal important information
·Damaging the system
      Black Hat hackers, also known as crackers, are those who hack in order to gain unauthorized access to a system and harm its operations or steal sensitive information.

Black Hat hacking is always illegal because of its bad intent which includes stealing corporate data, violating privacy, damaging the system, blocking network communication, etc.

   

White Hat Hackers:

White Hat hackers are also known as Ethical Hackers. They never intent to harm a system, rather they try to find out weaknesses in a computer or a network system as a part of penetration testing and vulnerability assessments.

Ethical hacking is not illegal and it is one of the demanding jobs available in the IT industry. There are numerous companies that hire ethical hackers for penetration testing and vulnerability assessments.

   

Grey Hat Hackers

Grey hat hackers are a blend of both black hat and white hat hackers. They act without malicious intent but for their fun, they exploit a security weakness in a computer system or network without the owner’s permission or knowledge.

Their intent is to bring the weakness to the attention of the owners and getting appreciation or a little bounty from the owners.

 

Miscellaneous Hackers

Apart from the above well-known classes of hackers, we have the following categories of hackers based on what they hack and how they do it −

 

Red Hat Hackers

Red hat hackers are again a blend of both black hat and white hat hackers. They are usually on the level of hacking government agencies, top-secret information hubs, and generally anything that falls under the category of sensitive information.

 

Blue Hat Hackers

A blue hat hacker is someone outside computer security consulting firms who is used to bug-test a system prior to its launch. They look for loopholes that can be exploited and try to close these gaps. Microsoft also uses the term BlueHat to represent a series of security briefing events.

 

How to become an ethical hacker

There are no standard education criteria for an ethical hacker, so an organization can set its own requirements for that position. Those interested in pursuing a career as an ethical hacker should consider a bachelor’s or master’s degree in information security, computer science or even mathematics as a strong foundation.

  Individuals not planning to attend college can consider pursing an information security career in the military. Many organizations consider a military background a plus for information security hiring, and some organizations are required to hire individuals with security clearances.

  Other technical subjects including programming, scripting, networking and hardware engineering, can help those pursuing a career as ethical hackers by offering a fundamental understanding of the underlying technologies that form the systems that they will be working on. Other pertinent technical skills include system administration and software development.

   

Certified ethical hackers

There are a number of ethical hacking certifications as well as IT certifications related to security that can help individuals become ethical hackers, including:

•Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH): This is a vendor-neutral certification from the EC-Council, one of the leading certification bodies. This security certification, which validates how much an individual knows about network security, is best suited for a penetration tester role. This certification covers more than 270 attacks technologies. Prerequisites for this certification include attending official training offered by the EC-Council or its affiliates and having at least two years of information security-related experience.

•Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA): This certification is offered by ISACA, a nonprofit, independent association that advocates for professionals involved in information security, assurance, risk management and governance. The exam certifies the knowledge and skills of security professionals. To qualify for this certification, candidates must have five years of professional work experience related to information systems auditing, control or security.

•Certified information security manager (CISM): CISM is an advanced certification offered by ISACA that provides validation for individuals who have demonstrated the in-depth knowledge and experience required to develop and manage an enterprise information security program. The certification is aimed at information security managers, aspiring managers or IT consultants who support information security program management.

•GIAC Security Essentials (GSEC): This certification created and administered by the Global Information Assurance Certification organization is geared toward security professionals who want to demonstrate they are qualified for IT systems hands-on roles with respect to security tasks. Candidates are required to demonstrate they understand information security beyond simple terminology and concepts.