ETHICAL HACKING

What is ethical hacking?

Ethical hacking is the practice of testing a computer system, a network or an application to find security vulnerabilities that could be exploited by criminal hackers.

Ethical hackers use the same tools and techniques as criminal hackers, but they do so with permission from the owner of the system being tested.

Ethical hackers use the same tools and techniques as criminal hackers, but they do so with permission from the owner of the system being tested.

Importance of ethical hacking:

Cyber security defence: Ethical hackers play a vital role in identifying and closing security gaps before criminal hackers can exploit them, thereby fortifying an organisation’s digitalat is ethical hacking?

Ethical hacking is the practice of testing a computer system, a network or an application to find security vulnerabilities that could be exploited by criminal hackers.

Ethical hackers use the same tools and techniques as criminal hackers, but they do so with permission from the owner of the system being tested.

Ethical hackers use the same tools and techniques as criminal hackers, but they do so with permission from the owner of the system being tested.

Importance of ethical hacking:

Cyber security defence: Ethical hackers play a vital role in identifying and closing security gaps before criminal hackers can exploit them, thereby fortifying an organisation’s digital defences

Compliance:

A growing range of global and industry-specific regulations, standards and laws mandate regular security testing – the recent EU DORA (Digital Operational Resilience Act) regulation being a case in point. Ethical hacking can be sourced either from in-house specialists or consultants, or from ethical hacking and penetration testing companies.

Risk reduction:

From an operational standpoint, ethical hacking is used for proactive risk reduction, specifically helping to minimise the risk of data breaches, financial losses, reputational damage and legal liabilities associated with cyber attacks.

Continual improvement:

By regularly conducting ethical hacking assessments, organisations can continually improve their security measures and stay ahead of evolving cyber threats

Methodologies:

• Reconnaissance: Gathering information about the target system, including identifying potential vulnerabilities.
• Scanning: Using various tools to actively scan and identify weaknesses in the target system or network.
• Gaining access: Attempting to exploit identified vulnerabilities to gain access to the system.
• Maintaining access: If successful, ethical hackers may maintain access to the system to assess the extent of potential damage.
• Covering tracks: Ensuring that their activities are not detectable by system administrators.