Ethical hacking is a process of legal probing into systems in order to increase security of systems in question. White-collar hackers, sometimes referred to as ethical hackers hack into systems legally with an intention to secure those systems.
Example: An employer pays a hacker to perform an attack on the company network. In this service, the hacker looks for vulnerabilities within the target company’s structure like an open database or easy to guess passwords and then presents a report outlining some of these problems.
Popular tools used by ethical hackers include:
Nmap: For network scanning.
Burp Suite: For web application testing.
Metasploit: For penetration testing.
Real-world case: A white-hat hacker found out a weak link in Apple’s iCloud list in 2021 and release the information under Apple’s bug bounty program to earn some money.
Anyone interested in ethical hacking should certainly consider acquiring industry licenses such as CEH (Certified Ethical Hacker) or OSCP (Offensive Security Certified Professional).
Tip: Ethical hacking as a method helps organizations maintain security by first identifying potential threats. It is not all about hacking – it’s about making sure that the future is going to be all right.
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