What Makes Ethical Hackers So Important?
Every adventurous crime movie lover here must have heard the term “ethical hacking” at least once. Be it in a movie or a series based on political drama and cyberbullying, an ethical hacker is always sitting in a cafe, trying to figure out how to save the country. While watching these movies and shows, if you have always wondered what ethical hacking is and what makes ethical hackers so important, we have all the answers explained below for you!
What Is Ethical Hacking?
The practice of ethical hacking is widely known as penetration testing, where hackers test potential vulnerabilities in the system. It is used to identify the vulnerabilities and loopholes in computer networks and correct them using ethical methodologies.
Ethical hackers are appointed to play an important role in preventing password leaks and preparing us to face such critical situations. They crawl into a system and protect their clients from the ill intentions of hackers and their malicious activities. The outcome of running an ethical hacking was, and will always be used to maintain a system’s integrity and tighten the security and any online threats.
In a recent report, CyberGhost reveals how cybercrime is becoming a major threat to government bodies and security systems these days. With the rise in cyber threats, ethical hacking is becoming an important asset to companies and individuals. Now, most companies are investing in ethical hacking and their teams to avoid any monetary losses and a cyber catastrophe.
Why Is Ethical Hacking Important?
Now that we know the depths of ethical hacking and how it is helping government organizations stay out of trouble, we must also be aware of why it has become so important to implement ethical hacking into our security systems nowadays.
- Ethical hacking is widely used to test security systems to identify any loopholes and vulnerabilities. The tests are mainly performed during the executing, managing, and design stages to fix security breaches that can happen later.
- Big companies appoint ethical hackers to find and fix any bugs in their websites. This practice mainly comes under the bug bounty program, where hackers are assigned to find any technical vulnerability and notify the organization.
- Ethical hacking also plays a major role in securing a company from its competition and reduces the risk of getting blackmailed by your rivals.
- Ethical hacking also holds importance when it comes to the safety of the general public. Many national and government organizations nowadays hire ethical hackers to prevent cyber threats.
- Ethical hackers also provide assistance in software testing and ensure the company software is running swiftly.
- Many IT and CS companies also appoint ethical hackers to assist software developers, perform risk management and quality assurance tests, etc.
- If there are any security vulnerabilities in a company’s software, ethical hackers develop adequate testing tools to avoid any similar situations later in the future.
- Ethical hackers are trained to think from an attacker’s perspective, and hence, they can highlight any security flaws before they occur.
What Are The Different Types Of Ethical Hacking?
There are different ways hackers can use to enter a security system or a computer network. The different classifications of ethical hacking include the following:
- Web Application Hacking – Web application hacking is also known as penetrating hacking and involves the practice of testing a system or network to highlight any security vulnerabilities. It is performed both manually and automatically and highlights the security measures taken by a company. Ideally, it should be performed from time to time, especially when a new network is added to a computer system.
- System Hacking – System hacking is also known as network hacking, where hackers enter into a company’s network and steal data from there. As system hacking is performed on server networks, it can result in huge data loss.
- Web Server Hacking – Web server hacking is practiced to steal information and data easily available on the web. Most of this data includes passwords, banking details, other sensitive information, etc. Unethical hackers use sniffing attacks to steal information from various cyber security departments.
- Wireless Network Hacking – Wireless network hacking is a common type of hacking process used to steal data using radio waves. Since wireless network hacking uses radio waves, it becomes easy for black hat hackers to break into public networks using nearby locations.
Conclusion
Ethical hacking is the future of cybersecurity since ethical hackers can put themselves into criminals’ shoes and prevent malicious cybercrime activities. In the coming years, ethical hacking will witness rapid growth as more companies, government organizations, and individuals will lean towards ethical hackers to protect their data from any threats.
