Businesses and organisations are in constant need of ethical hackers to determine the weaknesses in their systems and ensure security.
An ethical hacker identifies the weaknesses and vulnerabilities of a network by breaking past a system in a legitimate manner. Not all hackers are criminals.
Ethical hackers are responsible for conducting rigorous research on the target, scanning target systems with the help of vulnerability scanners and creating a plan of attack to identify software and system vulnerabilities.
Hackers are categorized as follows:
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White Hat Hackers - White Hat is basically a term given to the ethical hackers who perform testing and use other methodologies to ensure the security of systems. They hack an organization’s system in a legitimate manner to identify the vulnerabilities before Black Hat hackers do.
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Black Hat Hackers - Black Hat hackers are basically the attackers or criminals who perform malicious activities and violate systems’ security for personal gain.
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Gray Hat Hackers - A Gray Hat hacker stands somewhere between a White Hat hacker and a Black Hat hacker. Gray Hat hackers gain access to computer systems without permission but with no malicious intent. Though the intention of hacking is not very wrong but this kind of hacking is illegal. Gray Hat hackers do not use a system’s weaknesses for their personal gain, rather inform the corresponding organization and allow it to fix the issue. They may also decide to disclose the vulnerability publically for the Black Hat and White Hat hackers to discover.
Today, there are a number of tools that are being developed that enable quicker testing. Below is a list of top six (6) tools that are used widely:
1. Nmap - this is used in port scanning.
2. Nessus - this is a vulnerability scanner.
3. MetaSploit - is probably the best tool for conducting penetration testing.
4. Nikto - is a web scanner that tests web servers and spots outdated software.
5. NetSlumber - this is used to prevent wardriving.
6. Kismet - this tests wireless networks.
Conclusion
The purpose of ethical hacking is to access the security parameters of a network or system. It involves identifying vulnerabilities to determine whether an entry point or a way to acquire unauthorised access of the system exists. Government agencies, businesses and organisations are in constant need of ethical hackers to determine the weaknesses in their systems and ensure security.
Ethical hacking has become the most sought after profession in the IT industry because of its growing demand and lucrative job offers. This gives you the opportunity to prove to your employer, your peers, and most importantly to yourself that you can in fact take on and overcome challenges found in everyday work life as an Ethical Hacker.
This article was originally published on here by Veronica Rose, a certified Information Systems Auditor and an Author.
