What is Ethical Hacking?

Hacking and ethical – These are two words which seem strange when used together. Yet, ethical hacking is one of the modern world’s most important jobs. As we enter a world which is increasingly digitized, the security of digital cyber systems becomes an even greater responsibility.

The recent problems big tech companies like Facebook and Google have had with data security and user privacy have underlined the importance of ethical hacking. The development of new technologies like machine learning, IoT, and AI aim to make the world more connected with cyber systems. The security of these systems is crucial in helping the world move towards technological progress with greater conviction.

What is Ethical Hacking?

Ethical hacking is a technique used to ensure the security of a digital system. As far as cyber security is concerned, ethical hacking is the only reliable way to secure a modern digital system.

As a technique, ethical hacking is used to find the vulnerabilities and weak points of a digital system or network. These weak points are found by putting to use hacking techniques used by malicious hackers.

To understand ethical hacking, there is first a need to understand the fundamentals of ethical hacking.

Ethical Hackings: Fundamentals

What does securing a digital system really involve?

A secure digital system can be classified as one which can withstand a cyber attack from malicious parties.

Thus, a secure system has to be impervious to cyber attacks from malicious hackers. Generally, malicious or black hat hackers are known to exploit common vulnerabilities of a system. They use a given set of technique to attack these vulnerabilities and take control of a system.

Ethical hackers are supposed to know and find these vulnerabilities of a system. They do so by subjecting a cyber system to the same type of attack a malicious hacker would. The aim of this exercise is to check whether the vulnerabilities which another hacker with malintent would exploit exist. If they do, the ethical hacker should recognize them and give actionable solutions to remove these vulnerabilities.

The fundamentals of ethical hacking are built upon the understanding that secure systems are those which can withstand attacks from black hat hackers. The only way to check systems if a system can withstand a cyber attack is subjecting a system to the type of techniques and tools generally used by black hat hackers.

 

Difference between Ethical and Malicious Hacking

One thing you’d have noticed above is the use of the techniques used by malicious hackers in ethical hacking. The difference between these two actions is a difference in intent. An ethical hackers hacks a system to find vulnerabilities and fix them. A malicious hacker, on the contrary, infiltrates a system to steal data or extort a bounty from the owner of a system.

In Conclusion

In conclusion, this article covers the basics and fundamentals of ethical hacking. As a practice, there is little disputing the need for ethical hackings. This is why you see so many students and professionals trying to learn ethical hacking. The number of platforms offering ethical hacking courses in Delhi and across the country have grown, including this very platform. Students interested in joining an Ethical Hacking Institute in Delhi are free to get in touch with me.