Ethical Hacking Concepts and Scope

 Ethical Hacking Concepts and Scope| 2021

1. Ethical Hacking

Ethical hacking and penetration testing are common terms, popular in information security environment for a long time. Increase in cybercrimes and hacking create a great challenge for security experts and analyst and regulations over the last decade. It is a popular war between hackers and security professionals. Fundamental Challenges to these security experts are of finding weaknesses and deficiencies in running and upcoming systems, applications, software and addressing them proactively. It is less costly to investigate proactively before an attack instead of investigating after falling into an attack, or while dealing with an attack. For security aspect, prevention and protection, organizations have their penetration testing teams internally as well as contracted outside professional experts when and if they are needed depending on the severity and scope of the attack.

2. Why Ethical Hacking is Necessary

The rise in malicious activates, cybercrimes and appearance of different forms of advanced attacks require to need of penetration tester who penetrate the security of system and networks to be determined, prepare and take precaution and remediation action against these aggressive attacks.

These aggressive and advanced attacks include: -

1. Denial-of-Services Attacks 
2. Manipulation of data 
3. Identity Theft 
4. Vandalism 
5. Credit Card theft 
6. Piracy 
7. Theft of Services

Increase in these type of attacks, hacking cases, and cyber attacks, because of increase of use of online transaction and online services in the last decade. It becomes more attractive for hackers and attackers to tempt to steal financial information. Computer or Cybercrime law has slowed down prank activities only, whereas real attacks and cybercrimes rise. It focuses on the requirement of Pentester, a shortened form of Penetration tester for the search for vulnerabilities and flaw within a system before waiting for an attack. If you want to beat the attacker and hacker, you have to be smart enough to think like them and act like them. As we know, hackers are skilled, with great knowledge of hardware, software, and exploration capabilities. It ensures the need and importance of ethical hacking which allows the ethical hacker to counter the attack from malicious hackers by anticipating methods. Another major advantage and need for ethical hacking are to uncover the vulnerabilities in systems and security deployments to take action to secure them before they are used by a hacker to breach security.

3. Scope and Limitations of Ethical Hacking

Ethical Hacking is an important and crucial component of risk assessment, auditing, counter frauds. Ethical hacking is widely used as penetration testing to identify the vulnerabilities, risk, and highlight the holes to take remedial actions against attacks. However, there is also some limitations where ethical hacking is not enough, or just through ethical hacking, the issue could not resolve. An organization must first know what it is looking for before hiring an external pentester. It helps focus the goals to achieve and save time. The testing team dedicated in troubleshooting the actual problem in resolving the issues. The ethical hacker also helps to understand the security system of an organization better. It is up to the organization to take recommended actions by the Pentester and enforce security policies over the system and network.

4. Phases of Ethical Hacking

Ethical Hacking is the combination of the following phases:

1. Footprinting & Reconnaissance 
2. Scanning 
3. Enumeration 
4. System Hacking 
5. Escalation of Privileges 
6. Covering Tracks

5. Skills of an Ethical Hacker

A skilled, ethical hacker has a set of technical and non-technical skills.

Technical Skills

1. Ethical Hacker has in-depth knowledge of almost all operating systems, including all popular, widely- used operating systems such as Windows, Linux, Unix, and Macintosh.
2. These ethical hackers are skilled at networking, basic and detailed concepts, technologies, and exploring capabilities of hardware and software.
3. Ethical hackers must have a strong command over security areas, related issues, and technical domains.
4. They must have detailed knowledge of older, advanced, sophisticated attacks.

Non-Technical Skills

1. Learning ability 
2. Problem-solving skills 
3. Communication skills 
4. Committed to security policies 
5. Awareness of laws, standards, and regulations.