What is Ethical Hacking?
Ethical hacking, also known as “white hat” hacking, is the process of identifying and exploiting vulnerabilities in a computer system or network in order to assess its security and provide recommendations for improving it. It is done with the permission and knowledge of the organization or individual that owns the system being tested. The objective of ethical hacking is to find flaws in a system before malevolent hackers may take advantage of them.
Steps Involved in Ethical Hacking
1. Planning and reconnaissance: The target system or network is investigated by the ethical hacker to acquire data that could be used to find weaknesses.
2. Scanning: Tools are used by an ethical hacker to find open ports, services and details about the target system that could be utilized to launch an attack.
3. Enumeration: The ethical hacker searches the target system for more specific information such as user accounts, network shares etc., which can be used to get unauthorized access into the system.
4. Vulnerability analysis: Automated tools as well as human procedures are used by an ethical hacker to find weaknesses in the target system like out-of-date software, incorrect configurations or weak passwords.
5. Exploitation: Vulnerabilities found are taken advantage of by an ethical hacker so that they can gain unauthorized access into the target system or network .
6. Reporting : Flaws found are recorded by an ethical hacker along with suggestions for enhancing security which can then be utilized by organizations/ individuals for resolving any security flaws in their systems/ networks and improve overall security .
Benefits of Ethical Hacking
Ethical hacking can help businesses and individuals ensure that their computer networks and systems remain secure against malicious attacks, since it allows them to identify potential vulnerabilities before they are exploited by malicious actors . It also helps prevent data breaches & other security related issues .
Conclusion
Ethical hacking provides numerous benefits when it comes ensuring safety from cyber threats & thus should be utilized by organizations & individuals who wish to guarantee their systems’ & networks’ safety .