What is Ethical Hacking Technology?
Introduction
1. An ethical hacker is an individual hired to hack into a system to identify and repair potential vulnerabilities , effectively preventing exploitation by malicious hackers.
2. Ethical hacking involves an authorized attempt to gain unauthorized access to a computer system, application, or data.
3. Carrying out an ethical hack involves duplicating strategies and actions of malicious attackers.
4. This practice helps to identify security vulnerabilities which can then be resolved before a malicious attacker has the opportunity to exploit them.
Hacking experts follow four key protocol concepts:
- Stay legal. Obtain proper approval before accessing and performing a security assessment.
- 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.
- Report vulnerabilities. Notify the organization of all vulnerabilities discovered during the assessment. Provide remediation advice for resolving these vulnerabilities.
- 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.
History
1. The first hacker was appeared in 1960’s at the Massachusetts institute of technology.
2. During the 1970’s , a different kind of hacker appeared and they were “Phone Phreakers or Phone hackers”.
3. In the 1980’s , Phreakers started to migrate to computers and first BBS appeared.
4. During 1990’s , when the use of internet widespread around the world, hacker multiplied.
Black Hat Hacker
Black Hat hackers, also known as crackers, are those who hack in order to gain unauthorized access to a system and harm its operations or steal sensitive information.
White Hat Hacker
White Hat hackers are also known as Ethical Hackers. They never intent to harm a system, rather they try to find out weaknesses in a computer or a network system as a part of penetration testing and vulnerability assessments.
Grey Hat Hacker
Grey hat hackers are a blend of both black hat and white hat hackers. They act without malicious intent but for their fun, they exploit a security weakness in a computer system or network without the owner’s permission or knowledge.
Advantages
1. Provides security to banking and financial establishments.
2. Prevents websites defacements.
3. An evolving techniques to catch a thief you have to think like a thief.
Disadvantages
1. All depends upon the trustworthiness of the ethical hacker.
2. Hiring professional is expensive.
