In spite of increasing cyber attacks in the recent decade, a lot of government agencies and other business organizations are in constant need of ethical hackers or penetration testers. They need this individual to compete with this uprising threat in the world of information technology and to exploit vulnerabilities, breaches, or other nodes of interaction that can be used by the hackers to manipulate the security systems and gain access. For some people, there isn't any difference between an ethical hacker and other remote hackers, but if observed closely there is an evident difference between the two such as;
Definition of Ethical Hacking
Ethical hacking is sometimes also known as penetration testing refers to the act of intruding or penetrating multiple specific IT systems and features to explore hidden vulnerabilities and other possible points of the breach that can be used and exploit by an illicit hacker to gain access to these sensitive systems. After gaining access, these hackers can use the accessed information, causing loss of imperial data, financial loss, and other major damages from where the chances of counterfeiting with the ramifications start to shrink.
Ethical hackers are also known as the white hat hackers; these are not involved in the illicit activities but use their knowledge of the systems and networking for the penetration testing of the specified security attributes. Black hat hackers or otherwise cybercriminals use various tools and their dedicated knowledge of the systems for gaining unauthorized access to secured systems, exploiting them to acquire sensitive information and user data, and creating havoc in their wake.
Types of ethical hacking
There are various types of ethical hacking or hackers in general, although every one of these is categorized differently based on the various properties and specific elements of attack as well. These include;
White hat hackers
Ethical hackers or white hat hackers use their dedicated knowledge of the security systems and related computing techniques and tools to find out various weaknesses and other possible vulnerabilities in a computer or network system. They use their knowledge of penetration testing and vulnerability assessment to render the whole networking system of the corporations, businesses, and governments secure.
These don't seem intent to harm the systems in any possible way but to help the companies to understand the various points of breaches and implementing security updates and systems t counterfeit the possibility of a cyber-attack. This is a highly grossing job available in the IT industry; numerous organizations, including both private and government organizations, hire these hackers to test their security systems and to explore various vulnerabilities as well. These white hat hackers are also asked to layout or implement security systems to make sure that the risk of cyberattacks in the future is completely mitigated and neutralized.
Black Hat hackers
Black hat hackers, as is obvious from the name intent to harm the potential security systems for various organizations and business websites. Their original purpose is to gain unauthorized access to a system and then harm its various optional elements or steal sensitive information or other important user data such as financial or personal, which can create digital havoc that can become seriously impossible to get out of.
There is no way that the actions of a black hat hacker are legal or admissible because their official intent is to strike a massive blow over the security systems of the attacked networking and other IT centers. White hat hackers work tirelessly to contain the threats being administered by the black hat hackers and to implement various additional security systems that block access of the unauthorized entries into the data networking system of the businesses and other organizations.
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Grey hat hackers
Grey hat hackers can be stated as the mixture of both white hat and black hat hackers; they exploit a system or IT infrastructure just for fun or hang of it. They don't engage in illicit or malicious activities and are thus not harmful to the security systems, but they exploit these systems without the authorization or permission of the owners; that is why these are termed as the grey hat hackers.
The original intent of these hackers is to bring the attention of the possible vulnerabilities and weaknesses of the security systems in front of the owners and receive a little something in return for themselves.
Miscellaneous Hackers
You must be familiar with the terms Miscellaneous, aren't you? If not, then don't worry, it is not that difficult to understand, the word miscellaneous refers to an object, element, system or process that can't be appointed into a particular section or category. That is why many other types of hackers are exempt from the style or course of action from those mentioned above.
- Red hat hackers
These are a mix of the white and black hat hackers and are mainly involved in the hacking or compromising the government agencies, sensitive agencies, or anything that falls under the umbrella of the sensitive information.
- Blue hat hackers
These are involved in the bug testing of various software or programs before their launch; these provide their services for a lot of organizations and IT-related industries. These find out various loopholes in the systems or software that can be exploited by the illicit hackers to gain access.
- Green hat hackers
Green hat hackers or newbie hackers are people who are new to the concept and don't know much; their skill level can be addressed as the beginner level. These are still trying to understand various operations involved in the IT testing and hacking systems.
If you wish to excel in the IT industry as a white-hat hacker or ethical hacker, then you should think about acquiring some certification in this regard. The best ethical hacking course or equivalent training is a must-have resource to become eligible for a job in the It industry, referring to the title of ethical hacker or penetration tester. You can find various courses or certification ideas on the internet and engage in acquiring the certification, which strikes you as the most important or tempting so that you can begin your journey as an ethical hacker or penetration tester.
Talk to our experts for further guidance on which cybersecurity certification is best for you!