Hacking is one of the very important and less talked topic among cyber world. Every internet users should have basic knowledge of the hacking and how to avoid malicious activites in cyber world(Everything related to Internet is called Cyber). So the basic question arises here that what does hacking mean? How does hacking work? What hacking is legal? Why hacking is dangerous? This blog post about hacking is going to answer all the given questions above.
Hacking means finding and exploiting weaknesses in Computer Systems, Computer Networks, or Websites to gain unauthorized access. Hackers exploit it for different purposes. There are various types of hackers, such as ethical hackers(White Hat hackers), who aim to improve security, unethical hackers(Black Hat Hackers), or malicious hackers, who seek to misuse the fault. Unethical hack is illegal and prohibited.
What is Ethical Hacking?
Ethical Hacking is also known as penetration testing or White hat hacking. It gets into devices or network systems legally to check the defenses of an organization. The goal is to identify and fix the vulnerabilities or inform the organization before the malicious hackers exploit it.
Factors of Ethical Hacking
- Objective: The main purpose of ethical hack is to find the vulnerabilities and fix them.
- Permission: Mostly they have permission or get permission from the owner to check the system.
- Scope: Ethical hackers get limited permission. They can do all the required testing in the part of systems where they have permission.
- Report: After testing, they have to submit detailed reports, any information on vulnerabilities, and how to fix them.
What is Unethical Hacking?
Unethical Hack also known as black hat hackers is gaining unauthorized access to any devices or network systems with malicious intent. The purpose of unethical hacking is to harm someone’s business or cause financial loss, and other malicious intent is included. Since unethical hacking is an illegal and punishable offense, All the unethical hackers keep their identity hidden. They try not to leave any digital footprints where their intent is malicious.
Their intent includes Stealing Sensitive data, Stealing money or causing disruption, and spying on individuals, organizations, or government. They are highly skilled in advanced technology. The techniques used by them include SQL injection, virus attack, cyber arrest, malware, phishing, and other cyber attacks to exploit vulnerabilities.
Skills and Tools Required for Hacking
Technical Skills: Proficiency in different programming languages(especially Python), Understanding of the functioning of Operating Systems(especially Linux OS), and understanding of the different layers of computer networks and the uses of protocols at each layer.
Tools: A Hacker needs to be familiar with a variety of tools like Metasploit, Nmap, Wireshark, and Burp Suite.
Certifications: Many certification courses are available for ethical hacking. Certified Ethical Hacker(CEH), Offensive Security Certified Professional(OSCP), and CompTIA Security+ are some of them.
Location/ Resources: Now online learning is the best place to learn. Udemy Coursera provides many hacking courses at an affordable price. You can also take the help of YouTube or blogging websites. But choosing any particular course could be best to learn quickly.
If you belong to India and want to do a course in offline mode. You can choose Hyderabad as a destination.
Overview
Hacking is not an easy task and not always means a lot of coding skills. However, you should have a variety of technical knowledge so that you can identify the vulnerabilities. Since, Everything is online, from your business to your grocery items, your doctors to your household articles. A country with over 1400 million population where need a lot of cyber experts. According to recent government data people lost over 6 thousand crores rupees by cyber frauds during 2018-2023. There are many vulnerabilities other than financial loss. Therefore, cyber security is a major challenge or threat of this decade and it is not going to last sooner or later.