Dr. Fleishman, what is an ethical hacker?

Ethical hackers do security assessments. Through their proactive work, they help to improve the security situation of the company.

What are the key concepts of ethical hacking?

• Be legal: Ethical hackers always obtain a security assessment and proper approval from the infringing company before gaining access.

• Define the scope: Ethical hackers work with management to define the scope of their activities so that the work stays within the company’s accepted limits.

• Report Vulnerabilities: Ethical hackers notify the company of any vulnerabilities discovered during evaluation and provide in-depth advice on how to fix them.

• Respect the sensitivity of the data: Depending on the sensitivity of the data, ethical hackers will agree to a non-disclosure agreement, if necessary, in addition to any other conditions required to evaluate the site.

How is the work of ethical hackers different from criminal hackers in detail?

Ethical hackers use their knowledge to secure and improve organizations’ technology. They do an important service to these organizations by discovering vulnerabilities that can lead to security breaches.

On the other hand, criminal hackers intend to gain unauthorized access to a resource for financial gain or personal recognition. The methods used and the vulnerabilities found are usually not known.

What problems does ethical hacking expose?

When evaluating the security of an organization’s IT resources, ethical hacking is aimed at hacker attack To Copy. Attack vectors are searched for the target. The initial goal is exploration to collect as much information as possible. Once the ethical hacker has gathered enough information, they use it to look for vulnerabilities in the object. He then performs a hacking attack, usually using a combination of automatic and manual techniques. Even sophisticated security systems can be overcome with this, provided they contain the appropriate vulnerabilities.

So ethical hackers are not satisfied with just exposing vulnerabilities, they also target them to prove how a malicious attacker can exploit them. Some of the most common vulnerabilities exposed by ethical hackers are:

• Bad authentication

• Incorrect security configuration

• Use of components with known security vulnerabilities

• Disclosure of sensitive information

After the testing phase, a detailed report is prepared. This document includes steps to patch discovered vulnerabilities and suggested actions to fix or mitigate them.

Where is ethical hacking prevalent?

Ethical hackers are commonly hired by public organizations, governments, and companies of all kinds to look for security vulnerabilities and programming errors (bugs). They often use the expertise of professionals for so-called penetration tests.

A distinction is often made between penetration tests of IT infrastructure and web applications. In the former, for example, server systems, Wi-Fi networks, VPN access, and firewalls are tested and analyzed. In the field of web applications, experts examine, among other things, network services, websites and web outlets, customer management portals, and systems for monitoring servers and services. A penetration test can refer to the network and application layer in this regard.

Solid routine tests of ethical hacks include detecting open ports using port scans, checking the security of credit card data, logins and passwords, and simulating hacker attacks across networks. Since the TCP/IP protocol is commonly used for this, these tests are also called “IP-based penetration tests”. Systems are often checked to see if the viruses and/or Trojans that have been smuggled in can steal sensitive company data. Such strategies can be complemented by social engineering techniques that take into account the human risk factor and explicitly examine employee behavior as part of the safety concept.

Various standards have been established for penetration tests. Internationally, the Open Source Security Testing Methodology Manual (OSSTMM) is one of the well-known standards for security tests.

What is the “status quo” of ethical hacking?

Ethical hacking has now established itself all over the world. The hacker emulates the other side, so to speak, and can thus expose security gaps that often fall through the cracks with normal security tests. As a result of increasing cybercrime, such countermeasures are becoming increasingly important.

Evan Fleischmann About Dr.

Dr. Evan Fleischman is the Founder and Head of Offensive Security at IT Security Specialist redlings, As an information security specialist, he has over 10 years of experience in all areas of IT security including penetration testing and red teaming.