Introduction
Since we explored what is cybersecurity, let’s understand what is ethical hacking, to catch a thief, you have to think like one. In the digital world, that’s exactly what is ethical hacking is all about. It’s not about causing damage; it’s a proactive defense strategy that involves finding the weaknesses in a system before the real attackers do. This guide is a beginner’s look into this fascinating field, exploring how security professionals use hacking skills for good.
What is Ethical Hacking? A Core Definition:
So, what is ethical hacking? At its core, it is the authorized and legal attempt to gain unauthorized access to a computer system, application, or network. Seams surreal right unauthorized access legally true but it’s the fact. Because the purpose isn’t to steal information or cause harm, but to identify and fix security vulnerabilities. The technical process of carrying out an ethical hack is called “penetration testing,” and the professionals who do it are often called “pentesters” or “white-hat hackers.”
“I am a security professional, and I am a hacker. It is a state of mind, a way of thinking, and a passion for understanding how things work.”
– Kevin Mitnick, World’s most famous hacker
The 5 Phases of Ethical Hacking:
A professional penetration test isn’t random; it follows a structured process. The standard ethical hacking phases provide a roadmap for finding vulnerabilities or loopholes systematically:
Reconnaissance: This is the information-gathering phase. The ethical hacker learns as much as possible about the target system, like an attacker would. Understand completely about the system/application.
Scanning: Using the information from phase one, the hacker uses tools to scan the target for open ports, vulnerabilities, and other weaknesses. There are tools like Nmap, Wireshark, etc, which will discussed future blogs.
Gaining Access: This is where the actual “hacking” occurs. The ethical hacker exploits a vulnerability found during scanning to gain access to the system. The exploitation in professional terms
Maintaining Access: To simulate a real attack, the hacker tries to maintain their presence in the system to see how deep they can get and what data they can access. Simply finding what can be done to manipulate the data in servers.
Covering Tracks: A professional ethical hacker will clean up any tools or backdoors they used, report their findings, and provide recommendations for fixing the vulnerabilities. The fixing of the problem that might occur
“There are only two types of companies: those that have been hacked, and those that will be.”
– Robert Mueller, Former Director of the FBI
Types of Penetration Testing
Not all tests are the same. For anyone interested in penetration testing for beginners, it’s important to know the three main approaches, which are defined by how much information the tester is given beforehand:
Black Box Testing: The hacker is given zero information about the target system, just a name or an IP address. They have to figure everything out on their own, just like a real external attacker.
White Box Testing: The hacker is given complete information about the system, including source code, network diagrams, and administrator credentials. This allows for a very deep and thorough security audit.
Grey Box Testing: This is a mix of the two. The hacker is given some information, like a user-level login, to simulate an attack from an insider or someone who has already breached the initial perimeter.
These terms mean even a different meaning like the ethical, unethical or semi ethical which is topic of another day. (Internet)
How to Learn Ethical Hacking Responsibly
If you’re inspired to learn ethical hacking, it’s crucial to do so in a safe and legal environment. Never test your skills on a system you don’t have explicit permission to access. Instead, use dedicated platforms designed for practice, such as Hack The Box or TryHackMe, which provide virtual labs for you to safely hone your skills. Pursuing industry certifications like the Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) is also a key step in a professional journey.
Conclusion
In the end, understanding what is ethical hacking is about understanding proactive defence. It’s a critical and essential part of any modern cybersecurity strategy, allowing organizations to find and fix their weaknesses before they can be exploited by those with malicious intent.
We discussed most of defence part of ethical hacking we also have another session called offense which is completely against of defence will be explored in near future.
What's Next?
Now that you have a grasp of the ethical hacking process, you might be curious about the specific tools professional’s use.
In a future post, we’ll take a closer look at a fundamental tool like Nmap for network scanning. To see how this fits into the bigger picture, you can revisit my foundational article, “What Is Cybersecurity?“
Check out my LinkedIn for updates.
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