Break Into Computers Legally | Ethical Hacking
Are you exhausted from looking into hundreds of websites trying to understand ethical hacking and still clueless about what it is? By the end of this article, you’ll be able to know the basics of this type of hacking.
Ever wondered what it’d be like to break into a system but with official permission? Hacking isn’t all about cracking an Instagram password or hacking someone’s profile. Ethical hacking is beyond that. Let’s dive into the basic concept of ethical hacking!
1. What Does an Ethical Hacker Do?
An ethical hacker also known as a ‘white hat’ finds potential threats and identified vulnerabilities in a network, system, or web application and reports them to the target corporate to improve their technology.
2. Black Hat Hacker vs White Hat Hacker
‘Your Facebook password was updated 46 minutes ago’ is a strong enough sentence to make someone lose their cool. Not all types of hacking are legal. Hacking without the owner’s consent by gaining unauthorized access to a system for personal recognition is a crime and one could face criminal charges if proven guilty. (black hat hacker).
On the other hand, ethical hacking is an authorized attempt to gain unauthorized access to the security posture of a system with official permission (white hat hacker). In a 2021 survey conducted in the United States, 37% of social media users have had their accounts hacked illegally.
3. Skills Required to Become a Certified Ethical Hacker
An ethical hacker is expected to have a wide range of IT skills and a strong foundational understanding of information security and networking, as well as scripting language.
Below are some basic skills needed if you’re new to this type of hacking;
- Coding/programming
- Proficiency in the operating system
- Session hijacking
- Social engineering
4. Future With an EH Certification
As of 2023 Feb, there were 755,743 cyber job openings in the US. Almost every job requires a security check and balance to ensure the safety of its company’s operations and confidential data.
Below are some jobs listed that you may apply for as a CEH;
- Website Administrator
- Cybersecurity analyst
- IT security specialist
- Network Engineer
- Chief information officer
5. Core Benefits of Ethical Hacking
The first benefit of ethical hacking is its potential to recognize, inform and improve an organization’s network. The primary threat to a system’s security is unauthorized hacking into their system by a black hat hacker. By understanding the techniques and mindset of black hat hackers and how they operate networks, ethical hackers identify and correct vulnerabilities as well as remediating possible potential risks.
Conclusion
As black hat hackers are finding advanced techniques to breach the defenses of networks every day, the need for ethical hackers has become critically important across all areas of IT.
