Cyber Security and Its Career Scope
What is Cybersecurity?
Cybersecurity is the practice of protecting systems, networks, data, and programs from cyber attacks. These attacks typically target the unauthorized access, modification, or destruction of sensitive information. Attackers may seek monetary gains from users through ransomware, disrupt normal business processes, or attempt to steal data.
What is Ethical Hacking?
Ethical hacking, also known as penetration testing or white-hat hacking, is a legal and authorized practice aimed at ensuring the safety of computer systems, networks, or applications by identifying security vulnerabilities.
Why is Ethical Hacking Important?
The Importance of Ethical Hacking in Cybersecurity: Safeguarding Your Systems and Data against cyber attacks. The increasing prevalence of cybercrime poses significant threats to national security, influential government organizations, and reputable entities, leading them to enlist the services of ethical hackers. Although hacking is commonly associated with illegal activities, ethical hacking serves as a proactive defense measure.
Types of Ethical Hacking
1. Black-box Testing
In black-box testing, the hacker doesn’t have any prior knowledge of the system and is testing the software from outside the system before entering it via a brute-force approach. For example, if you were testing a website, you might not know what kind of server it’s running on or what programming languages were used to create it. For example, black box testing can be used to check a user’s login, view their account information, change their password, and log out. The tester would not need to know how this is achieved within the application’s code to design such a test.
2. White-box Testing
In white box testing, the hacker knows everything about the system, how it works, and its weaknesses before he tries to break into the system. White-box testing is often done by developers who want to see how well their systems hold up under pressure before they release them into production environments where attackers may try to crack them open.
3. Gray-box Testing
This is a mix between white-box and black-box testing; the tester has some knowledge about the system but not all of it, so they need to use deductive reasoning skills and their technical knowledge to find vulnerabilities within the system or network being tested.
The examples of gray-box testing include areas like:
- Usability Tests
- Performance Tests
- Security Tests
This approach helps you understand how well your application will perform in real-world environments, which can be critical for ensuring successful development.
4. Web Application Hacking
Web application hacking type is the process of exploiting security vulnerabilities or weaknesses in web-based applications. Web applications are typically written in languages like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, but they can also be written in other languages like PHP and Ruby on Rails. Because of the nature of these languages and how web browsers interpret them, it is possible to perform specific actions on a website without actually being authorized. One example of this would be cross-site scripting (XSS), which involves injecting malicious code into a website’s HTML. If you can craft an XSS attack properly, you can hijack the browser’s session with the server without ever having access to their username or password.
5. Hacking Wireless Networks
Hacking wireless networks is a hacking type that involves accessing a computer network without authorization, typically by exploiting weak points in the system’s security. An example of this is the practice of wardriving, where an attacker drives around with a laptop or other device capable of picking up wireless signals, looking for unprotected or poorly protected networks.
6. Social engineering
Social engineering aims to persuade people to reveal their confidential information. The attacker deceives people because they trust them and lack knowledge. There are three types of social engineering: human-based, mobile-based, and computer-based. As security policies loosen and there are no hardware or software tools to prevent social engineering attacks, it is difficult to detect them.
7. System hacking
System hacking is the sacrifice of computer software to access the targeted computer to steal their sensitive data. The hacker takes advantage of the weaknesses in a computer system to get the information and data and takes unfair advantage. System hacking aims to gain access, escalate privileges, and hide files.
8. Web server hacking
Web content is generated as a software application on the server side in real time. This allows the hackers to attack the webserver to steal private information, data, passwords, and business information by using DoS attacks, port scans, SYN floods, and Sniffing. Hackers hack web servers to gain financial gain from theft, sabotage, blackmail, extortion, etc.
Types of hackers
Black Hat
One who hacks for financial gain. They hack into systems, and networks to steal bank records, and sensitive information for their own gain These stolen commodities to sold onto the black market to destroy the target organization.
White Hat
Those who desire to help organizations with their hacking skills are Ethical Hackers, they do hacking in an authorized manner.
Grey Hat
They have the skills of Black and white hat hackers but the difference is they don’t care about stealing from people, nor do they want to support people. They like to experiment with systems instead and love the difficulty Of finding vulnerabilities, breaking security, and finding hacking enjoyable in general.
Blue Hat
Their motive is revenge. This must be a Client, Supplier, or employee – or anyone who is inside that same organization.
Green Hat
They are the baby hackers who taking their first steps in the cyber world. In general, they are new to the world of scripting, coding, and hacking.
State/Nation Sponsored Hackers
They protect the nation/government from individuals, companies, or rival nations.
How to Become an Ethical Hacker
some of the skills needed to become an ethical hacker include:
- Knowledge of scripting languages
- Proficiency in operating systems
- Deep understanding of networking
- A solid foundation in the principles of information security
Our CEH Certificate in Cyber Security can help you prepare to pursue a career as a cyber defender, securing sensitive data and protecting organizations against data breaches. The courses will teach you how to design strategies to protect information, infrastructure, and brands against the threat of cyberattacks.
Responsibilities of an Ethical Hacker
Hacking their own Systems: Ethical hackers hack their own systems to find potential threats and vulnerabilities. They are hired to find vulnerabilities in the system before they are discovered by hackers.
Diffuse the intent of Hackers: Ethical hackers are hired as a precautionary step towards Hackers, who aim at breaching the security of computers. Vulnerabilities when detected early can be fixed and save confidential information from being exposed to hackers who have malicious intentions.
Document their Findings: Ethical hackers must properly document all their findings and potential threats. The main part of the work they are hired by the organizations is proper reporting of bugs and vulnerabilities that are a threat to security.
Keeping the Confidential Information Safe: Ethical hackers must be obliged to keep all their findings secure and never share them with others. Under any kind of situation, they should never agree to share their findings and observations.
Sign Non-Disclosure Agreements: They must sign confidential agreements to keep the information they have about the organizations safe with them. This will prevent them from giving -out confidential information and legal action will be taken against them if they indulge in any such acts.
Handle the loopholes in Security: Based on their observations, Ethical hackers should restore/ repair the security loopholes. This will prevent hackers from breaching the security of the organization from attacks.
The Future of Ethical Hacking
The job of an ethical hacker is going to increase by 17.5% across the world by the year 2025 you will always be in demand as an ethical hacker for the foreseeable future.
Earn Your Ethical Hacking Certificate in Cyber Security
As the digital world expands, maintaining cyber security becomes ever more critical to businesses and their customers. At Asquare Technologies our CEH Certificate in Cyber Security program can help prepare you to pursue a career as a cyber defender, learning how to secure sensitive data and protect organizations against data breaches.
The courses in this program will help you develop fundamental cybersecurity skills and teach you how to design strategies to protect information, infrastructure, and brands against the threat of cyberattacks.
Cyber Security course syllabus :
- Introduction to CyberSecurity Ethical Hacking
- ICT Infrastructure -Networking and Systems
- Linux System Administration, Linux tutorial
- Ec-council CEH V12 Modules
- Bug Bounty Hunting
Cyber Security Course Eligibility :
Students who choose the science stream in the 12th class are the most suitable candidates to pursue the cyber security course. Apart from it, other stream students can also choose the cyber security courses after 12th and Bachelors degree.
Cyber Security Certifications :
After Completing this cyber security course you can attempt the Ec-Council CEH V12 exam. The EC-Council offers the CEH Certified Ethical Hacker certification. Earn it to demonstrate your skills in penetration testing, attack detection, vectors, and prevention.