WHY ETHICAL HACKING IS IMPORTANT

 WHY ETHICAL HACKING IS IMPORTANT?

Ethical hacking involves an authorized attempt to gain unauthorized access to a computer system, application, or data. Carrying out an ethical hack involves duplicating strategies and actions of malicious attackers. This practice helps to identify security vulnerabilities which can then be resolved before a malicious attacker has the opportunity to exploit them.

KEY CONCEPTS OF ETHICAL HACKING:

Hacking experts follow four key protocol concepts:

1.STAY LEGAL:

Obtain proper approval before accessing and performing a security assessment.

2.DEFINE THE SCOPE:

Determine the scope of the assessment so that the ethical hacker’s work remains legal and within the organization’s approved boundaries.

3.REPORT VULNERABILITIES:

 The organization of all vulnerabilities discovered during the assessment. Provide remediation advice for resolving these vulnerabilities.

4.RESPECT DATA SENSITIVITY:

Depending on the data sensitivity, ethical hackers may have to agree to a non-disclosure agreement, in addition to other terms and conditions required by the assessed organization. 

HACKERS:

Ethical hackers are mostly people with a good knowledge of operating systems and Computer networks technology. An ethical Hacker’s knowledge is very much comparable to the one of a “real” hacker. It is known, that some black hats have been converted to white hats and are now using their knowledge on how to hack a system in an ethical way. Hiring ex-hackers as ethical Hackers is very controversial. After all, an ethical hacker will see sensitive information and needs to be extremely trustworthy.

 During his assignment an ethical hacker  may get access to sensitive and confidential customer information where he will see and discover customers’ weak points Therefore lot of companies don’t believe to hire previous hackers to do their ethical hacks. As per their understanding by doing so the risk and insecurity level is very high. 

TYPES OF ETHICAL HACKING :

There are mainly four different types of ethical hacking depending on the knowledge of the hacker. There are many hackers whose intentions are not to harm.

 Basically the term ethical hacking itself says that hacking which is done for the purpose of not to harm rather take preventive measures to maintain the security and safety and check the vulnerabilities in the current system. 

HACKTIVISTS 

This is the technique through which a hacker is hacking into any computer system illegally for any reason may be social or political. In this activity a hacker can leave a very large message on the main page of any well-known website or any other so called important message so that visitor will see that message and react accordingly. It may display any kind of speech or any social message which can attract users and they may participate in the discussion or forum. This may lead to hacking the system without the consent of the target. It may have any social message like ethical hacking is ethical or not which may attract number of users and they can participate in the discussion. 

CYBERWARRIOR 

Cyber warrior is a kind of hacker who is being hired by an organisation or by an individual to creep into the system or computer network. Cyber warrior will act as a wicked hacker will try to find out the vulnerabilities or weaknesses in the present system. This hacker is not having any prior knowledge of system or computer network in which he is gaining access. By doing this activity he will come to know about the vulnerabilities in the present system or computer network and can tell the organisation or individual to work upon on it so that the website or other data can be secured from hacking in future. 

WHITE BOX PENETRATION TESTERS 

White box penetration testers are also called as white box hackers. They are the employees those are hired by the organisation to break into their current system or computer network. They are the legal penetration testers. They are legally breaking into the system or computer network for the organisation or for an individual to help them by telling the vulnerabilities and weaknesses in the present system. White box testers are working in the same way as cyber warriors are working the only difference is that cyber warriors do not have knowledge of the system or computer network of the organisation or of individual whereas white box hackers are having full knowledge of the system or computer network of the target. We can also consider it as that the attack is being simulated by an insider of the organisation. 

D.CERTIFIED ETHICAL HACKER / 

LICENSED PENETRATION TESTER 

As the name says itself that certified ethical hacker or licensed penetration tester are those certified or licensed professional in the field of hacking who are performing the duties of both i.e. black box hacker and White box hackers. They are responsible to Look into the system and networks to find Out the vulnerabilities and weaknesses. 

TYPES OF HACKERS:

There are basically three types of hackers on the basis of their way of doing and what their intentions behind for hacking are. 

A.WHITE HAT HACKER:

White hat hackers are those hackers who are gaining access into the system or computer network with the consent of the target to find out the vulnerabilities and security flaws in the present system. They are  helping the organisation or individual by making them aware about such flaws. These types of professionals are hired by computer security companies. White hat hackers are also called as Sneakers. In the company when there are more than one sneaker then the group of such professionals are called as “tiger team”. So we can say that white hat hacker is actually an ethical hacker who is opposing all exploitation in the computer system, ethically. 

B.BLACK HAT HACKER

A black hat hacker is a person who is exploiting the computer system or computer network without the consent or permission from any authorised party. His main goal is to do any kind of mishap to the system. Basically black hat hacker is a kind of person who uses his knowledge of vulnerabilities to exploit any system. He is much more concerned with his private gain. These persons are not interested to reveal them in the public. They may write their own code to destroy the entire system and Its security for their private interest and gain.

C.GREY HAT HACKER

A grey hat hacker is a person who is skilled enough to act as a good or bad in both ways. At times grey hat hacker can act legally and at times he may act illegally. Grey hat hackers generally do not hack the system for their personal gain. They normally don’t have any kind of nasty intentions, but they may commit a crime while using technology. A grey hat hacker will not report to the system administrator for any kind of dissemination. 

NEED OF ETHICAL HACKING:

Ethical hacking is the way to find out the weaknesses and vulnerabilities in the system or computer network. It is a way to describe the procedure of hacking in an ethical way for any network. The ethical hacker has the good purpose to do it. Actually it has become the general perception in our mind for hacker that he will be bad, fanatic, criminal and unethical. Basically some of the hacker has even done very badly with some organisations like they have stolen very important information of their customers. In some of the government organisations they have damaged very confidential information like social security numbers and other sensitive information. That is the reason hackers are not having very good reputation. To avoid such conditions many organisation have hired many ethical hackers to keep a track on their system and computer network. Ethical hackers are supposing to test and check vulnerabilities and weaknesses in the present system. There is one another face of the coin which tells that without hackers the vulnerabilities and holes of software would remain undiscovered . In this paper I have tried to explain the good and bad face of hacker and even of ethical hackers also and what re the different impact on the different areas of our society. A study shows that almost 90% attacks happen on the inside which shows that easy it is to invade into the system or network for insiders. I have tried to explore the ethics behind the ethical hacking and the problems lie with this particular field of information technology where security is concerned. Though ethical hacking has become a very upcoming technological subject from the last few years, now the doubt remains the true intentions of the hacker. Hackers in this context have had a very measurable impact on society. There are several fields in computing where hackers made measurable impact on society. In this paper I have tried to look into different ways how we can make ethical hacking safe and ethical.

IMPORTANCE OF ETHICAL HACKING:

Hacking is important for several purposes. Consider the below points:

1. In the existing industry, there are many jobs for ethical hacking. In the organization, to test the security systems, ethical hacking is really useful. Ethical hacking ensures that all the systems are secure and not vulnerable to black hat hackers. These days, there are a lot of hacking attacks. That’s why the demand for ethical hackers is huge.

2.We hear that attackers are hacked the big companies and big systems. Sometimes ago, a hacker hacked the Uber website. Due to this, the important information of around 50 million users was exposed. Many big companies like Google, Yahoo, Instagram, Facebook, Uber, they hire hackers. The hackers try to hack their systems. After hacking the system, they tell all the places where they found the weakness so that the company can fix it. Many companies also perform bug bounty programs. In this program, all the hackers around the world try to hack the website or web of that company. If the hacker finds any bug, the company will pay them a reward for the bug.

3.Ethical hacking is used to secure important data from enemies. It works as a safeguard of your computer from blackmail by the people who want to exploit the vulnerability. Using ethical hacking, a company or organization can find out security vulnerability and risks.

4. Government use State-sponsored hacking to prevent intelligence information about influence politics, an enemy state, etc. Ethical hacking can ensure the safety of the nation by preventing cyber-terrorism and terrorist attacks.

5. Hackers can think from an attacker’s perspective and find the potential entry point and fix them before any attacks.

6.Ethical hacking helps us learn new skills used in many roles like software developer, risk management, quality assurance tester, and network defender.

7.In a company, the trained ethical hackers are the main strength. To ensure the functions of software aptly, ethical hackers can apply quick security tests under extreme and standard conditions.

8.Ethical hackers develop many tools and methods and quality assurance tester to eliminate all the system’s vulnerabilities.

9.In an organization, ethical hacking can identify the weakness of your software security. Using the hacker’s perspective, you can look at your security and fix any anomalies before making a problem in the company’s success.

BENEFITS OF ETHICAL HACKING:

Despite the growing importance of ethical hacking for organizations and government agencies, individuals still fear the risks. While the worry is not unfounded, here are some benefits of ethical hacking that will tell why ethical hacking is worth considering:

1.The prime purpose of ethical hacking is to prevent sensitive data from falling into enemy hands. It safeguards your company from blackmail by those willing to exploit the vulnerabilities.

2.Via real-world testing, you can enhance your digital network security and prevent security breaches.

3.Improved security ensures the safety of client products and data and builds clients’ and investors’ trust.

4.Ethical hacking can prevent cyber-terrorism and terrorist attacks, ensuring the safety of the nation.

5.Hackers can identify potential entry points from an attackers’ perspective, allowing you the chance to fix them before an attack. 

6.As an employee, ethical hacking will help you gain new skills that are useful in a variety of roles, including risk management, network defender, quality assurance tester, and software developer. 

7.It also opens up employment opportunities for those wanting a new role or hoping to impress their organizations. 

8.With swift development cycles, quality assurance and security testing are often overlooked. Trained ethical hackers are an asset to the company. They can perform quick security tests to ensure the software functions aptly under standard and extreme conditions. 

9.Ethical hackers and other quality assurance testers have developed tools and methods to speed up the identification and elimination of all vulnerabilities in the system.

Ethical hacking helps identify the weaknesses in the company firewall or your software security. It helps you look at your security from the hacker’s perspective, giving you the chance to fix any anomalies before it is detrimental to the company’s success.

Despite the controversy behind the topic, ethical hacking helps organizations and nations protect their data from enemy hands. The many benefits and importance are proof that with the growing digitalization, advanced security measures are needed to strengthen cybersecurity.

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