Learning Ethical Hacking From Scratch - A Complete Roadmap

Introduction

In today’s digital world, data security has become more crucial than ever! As interconnected devices such as the Internet of Things (IoT), smartphones, etc., have transformed into powerhouses of information, learning ethical hacking has become top most priority. Also, as stated by the Cisco report, 

“500 billion systems are predicted to be connected to the web by 2030.”

And as more and more devices connect to the internet, they become susceptible to attacks worldwide. Therefore, every business must safeguard its assets and sensitive data from cyber-attacks. This increased demand has unlocked numerous job prospects for software engineers searching for jobs in this leading-edge, fast-growing cybersecurity field. For instance, ethical hacking offers a great opportunity to enhance network and system security, especially using testing for different vulnerabilities.

If you wish to secure your career in ethical hacking but have a few doubts like -

• If I’m a beginner, will I be able to learn ethical hacking?
• Will it be possible if I don’t have programming skills but still want to make a career in ethical hacking?
• Should I need to be a certified ethical hacker?

Stop worrying about how to get started in this field and which are the best cybersecurity courses because you’ve come to the right place. We’ll share a comprehensive learning path to start an ethical hacking career! So, let’s start 

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Introduction to Ethical Hacking

It is a method of testing system networks for any vulnerabilities opposing malicious threats, identity thefts, or cyberattacks that might result in financial loss or any other harm to the organization. 

Ethical hackers systematically infiltrate systems using the same techniques used by illegal hackers. The major difference between illegal and ethical hackers is that ethical hackers have got all the required permissions from authorized persons to try and hack the system to enhance the security of actual attacks. 

Furthermore, extreme organizations also finance cyberattackers to threaten a nation’s security or steal data by introducing malware or spyware. 5 stages of ethical hacking are 

1. Investigation

An ethical hacker first collects all the target device or system information. Using different footprint tools, an ethical hacker scouts search engines, web services, social media platforms, DNS, emails, networks, etc. 

2. Scanning 

In the next step, ethical hackers collect more information related to the network and devices, along with open ports, protocols, services, hosts, live servers, etc.

3. Gaining Access

It is the most crucial step, where an ethical hacker tries to gain access to the networks, hosts, systems, or apps depending on the vulnerabilities found at the scanning stage.

4. Keeping Access

Once the ethical hacker gets access through the vulnerabilities, it's not required for that vulnerability to keep going on, and a user could deploy security patches. Therefore, if a hacker aims to continue with the access irrespective of the vulnerabilities, then they may require to implement keyloggers, trojans, or spyware to manage their access. 

5. Clearing Traces
At this stage, an ethical hacker cleans traces of the hack and trojans or spyware they might have deployed. It’s a POC (Proof Of Concept) to confirm if hackers can imitate a similar situation and stay unexposed. 

Who is an Ethical Hacker, and what does the work include?

Now that you know what is ethical hacking, an ethical also referred to as a “White hat” hacker, is a cyber security professional who helps find vulnerabilities and security weaknesses in the target device or system by breaking into the system legally or ethically. Ethical hackers discover and report this threat so businesses or government agencies can take safety measures to prevent such harm to information or network. 

The following are the Different Types of Hackers:

1. White Hat Hackers: 

White hat hackers are ethical hackers who find security weaknesses, software and hardware vulnerabilities, and operable incompetencies. They first get permission from the business's authorized person before carrying out any activity legally. 

2. Black Hat Hackers:

Black hat hackers are cybercriminals who get access to the system without permission and steal or corrupt business data to earn financial benefits or extortion. 

3. Grey Hat Hackers:

Perform both white and black hat tasks by breaking into businesses without authorized permission due to malicious intent. But having said that, they can also make contracts to help businesses enhance their security; simply put, grey hat hackers work on the 

What does the work include?

As discussed earlier, an ethical hacker, also called a white hat hacker, is a professional who, with the help of his skills, helps businesses improve their security. This is done by identifying and exploiting vulnerabilities in the systems and networks. They are employed by businesses to identify vulnerabilities in their systems and networks and to suggest different ways to fix them. 

In several situations, ethical hackers can find flaws that haven’t been identified by the organization’s in-house security experts. To achieve this, ethical hackers use similar tools and techniques used by illegal hackers but do so by taking permission from the organization.

Ethical hacking and hacking classes could be categorized into 2 major activities - 

1. Proactive ethical hacking - includes manually searching for the vulnerabilities present in the device and trying to exploit them
2. Reactive ethical hacking - includes reacting to events that’ve already taken place, like data breaches. 

In both these cases, ethical hackers document their findings and give suggestions to the companies or organizations regarding how to fix the issues. 

An ethical hacker's aim is not to harm or steal information but to help businesses enhance security measures. As a result of that, businesses can prevent potential attacks from happening. It can also help businesses to analyze their entire security policies and to discover the areas that need improvements. Through the ethical hacker tutorial, you can learn more about the basic concepts to get started with your career in hacking. 

Key Reasons to learn Ethical Hacking

Through learning ethical hacking, you can play a significant role in safeguarding the systems and data from cyber threats. Being an ethical hacker, you could: 

• perform investigations and analyses of the target devices to find any security flaws or system vulnerabilities from the hacker's point of view and recommend solutions.
• Help install an advanced network that can resist security breaches.
• Help government agencies in securing a nation’s infrastructure from extreme revolutionists. 
• Secure customer data and information by installing top-class security practices, thereby keeping up with trust and confidence.
• Do an authorized analysis of the organization's networks and systems by imitating an actual attack; discover and report security flaws to prepare well for potential illegal hacker attacks

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Skills for Learning Ethical Hacking

It is a dynamically growing field that needs a broad range of skills to become a successful ethical hacker. Probably, the most crucial skill required for a person who wishes to make a career in hacking is the potential to think like adversaries. It needs not just the technical knowledge of how ethical hacking works but also the behavior of people and the intention of hackers.

Additionally, ethical hackers must be creative to put forward new methods to test devices and networks and discover vulnerabilities. White hat hackers must have strong interpersonal skills to interpret their findings to their customers.

At last, they should be highly reliable and trustworthy, as they’ll be working with confidential data. 

• Computer skills

To become an ethical hacker, one should first have a sound knowledge of computer skills, including a strong understanding of how computers work, how to encrypt and decrypt data, and how to debug common issues. 

An ethical hacker must have a solid understanding of programming languages, how to code, and develop custom code. 

• Penetration testing skills

It’s important to have solid penetration testing skills, which include discovering and exploiting security flaws in the systems and networks. Ethical hackers perform penetration tests, port scanning, social engineering, and password-guessing using different tools and techniques.

Furthermore, along with having a strong understanding of technical skills, ethical hackers should also be capable of thinking like malicious hackers. It also involves common attack strategies capable of anticipating the attackers' next move. 

A few of the most crucial skills that you’ll require:

• Knowledge of OSs such as Linux, Windows, etc.
• Knowledge of using hacking tools and techniques
• knowledge of networking terms such as TCP/IP, HTTP, DNS, etc. 
• Able to think like a hacker
• Effective communication skills

With the help of these skills, ethical hackers could help businesses to boost their defense against actual threats.

• Knowledge of Linux

To make a career in hacking, it's crucial to know the Linux operating system since Linux is one of the most commonly used OSs nowadays. Linux is an open-source operating system whose code is publicly available and can be easily altered by anyone. 

Linux is considered an ideal OS for ethical hackers, who must be able to understand and modify code to discover vulnerabilities. Furthermore, it is more secure than other OSs, making it difficult for malicious attackers to exploit security flaws. 

• Cryptography skills

Cryptography is practicing secure communication amidst the presence of third parties. This skill is useful when working with different apps, including email, file sharing, etc. it is also helpful for assuring privacy and security on the web. Because without cryptography, one can accept and read confidential information or access confidential files. 

Therefore it is important for ethical hackers to understand how cryptography works and how to break it. Ethical hackers would be unable to do their job effectively without these skills. 

• Programming skills

Ethical hacking needs a strong understanding of how computer devices work and exploit vulnerabilities. They must also be able to write custom code for developing tools and programs. It can be accomplished when working on different projects. Without this skill, ethical hackers would be restricted from using current tools and techniques, which might not be useful against all malicious threats.

• Critical thinking and problem-solving skills

To pursue a career in hacking requires solid critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Because this field is all about devising new solutions to complicated problems. An ethical hacker doesn’t need to simply discover the vulnerabilities but also be capable of finding solutions to fix the issues. 

Being an ethical hacker, you’ll be required to think differently and be ready to experiment. In other words, you need to take failure normally and remember that not each solutions will work successfully, but that’s acceptable.

Most importantly, you must be ready to keep learning and improving your skillset; it’ll help you discover potential vulnerabilities and develop solutions to patch them. 

Employment Benefits of Learning Ethical Hacking

Every day, new malware, spyware, ransomware, and trojans are evolving, making it important to hire ethical hackers to safeguard the organizations’ systems and networks.  This has resulted in an ongoing shortage of cybersecurity experts to fill the post. 

According to Glassdoor, the average salary of an ethical hacker in the US is $106,198. This indicates that the job outlook for ethical hacking is promising and increasing quickly. This is why ethical hacking experts are in high demand. 

Certified ethical hacking training and certification course by JanBask Training will help you master the advanced concepts of ethical hacking, like network packet analysis, reverse engineering, penetration testing, etc., to improve your network security skillset. 

Why Hire Ethical Hacking Services?

The demand for IT Security and ethical hackers is increasing because of technological advancements and the increasing number of threats in the IT world. Many businesses are under constant attacks, such as financial firms. 

Financial agencies are major targets for hackers. Hence,  to defend against cyber attacks, a significant portion of the amount is spent annually on security measures. Aside from banks, other business organizations, either big or small, are also under constant cyber attacks. 

Now to stop malicious attackers, one needs to think like one, and this is nothing but ethical hacking. Ethical hackers execute security tasks similar to hackers, but it is for good cause to secure the systems and business networks. They‘ve legal permission to hack business networks to conduct tests that help keep the organization safe from black hat hackers. 

Renowned MNCs such as IBM employ teams of ethical hackers to keep their systems and networks secure. Since security testing costs vary depending on the businesses, organizations with large databases may need to pay sizable amounts of money, whereas others might need to pay comparatively lesser amounts. 

Activities such as checking firewalls, servers, and IP addresses do need high amounts of money, but this investment is worth doing in contrast with loss induced by cyberattacks. This decision is taken depending on the different factors. 

Some businesses can’t afford to pay agents to hack the systems and networks from a distance for security reasons and hence hire internal ethical hackers. Whereas others hire ethical hacking services to secure their systems and networks. In both cases, ethical hackers must sign a legal document with different terms and conditions with the owners. 

Hiring ethical hackers or ethical hacking services has become necessary for organizations. EC Council controls the Certified Ethical Hacker program to train professional white hat hackers. For these apparent reasons, Certified Ethical Hackers are in great demand in different organizations across various sectors globally. 

To learn more about ethical hackers and the CEH training and certification program, employ professional CEH training from JanBask Training.

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Certified Ethical Hacking course by Janask Training to become an expert

Certified Ethical Hacking course by JanBask Training will prepare you through best practices used by hackers for writing down codes. These skills will help you secure your organization from breaches and also help you master advanced techniques like network packet analysis, increasing the security of web servers, dealing with malware threats, or learning advanced penetration testing techniques for developing highly secure networks inside organizations.

Conclusion

Start Your Career in Security Domain and Become the most sought-after security expert having the required skillsets! 

Since the ethical hacking profession is picking up speed rapidly as organizations are ready to spend huge amounts of money on combating cyber threats. If you’re also passionate about cybersecurity, the CEH course is the right stuff for you!

The skillsets and knowledge you’ll gain from the certified ethical hacking trainings curriculum by JanBask Training will help you get on the right path. So, stop waiting! Take the first step and sign up for our Certified Ethical Hacking course.

FAQs

1. Who is an Ethical Hacker?

 Ethical hackers try to penetrate a computer machine or network to discover security flaws or vulnerabilities that might otherwise remain unnoticed. But having said that, unlike illegal hackers, ethical hackers get permission to undertake these authorized attacks.

2. Which types of jobs can a hacker get?

You’ve taken a good decision to learn ethical hacking; here are the ethical hacking career job options

• Information Security Analyst
• Security Analyst
• Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH)
• Ethical Hacker
• Security Consultant - Computing / Networking / IT
• Information Security Manager
• Penetration Tester

3. Is CEH certification essential to get a job in the Ethical Hacking domain?

The CEH is one of the most popular certifications in ethical hacking, but it’s not a compulsory requirement. At its core, these certifications supplement real-world experience. Therefore, 

This certification will help you to pursue your career in ethical hacking profession, but not a guaranteed career because, along with the renowned certification, you’ll still need to have great skills and experience to back it all up.

4. What prerequisites do I need to take a Certified Ethical Hacker course?

To attend the certified ethical hacking course, you must ideally possess at least two yrs of IT experience, knowledge of TCP/IP, Windows Server, and a fundamental knowledge of Linux and/or Unix.

5. What do Certified Ethical Hackers do?

A certified ethical hacker is a skilled professional who, using the knowledge and tools, lawfully and legitimately assesses the security vulnerabilities of an organization’s network or system.

6. What is the cost of the CEH certification exam?

To become a Certified Ethical Hacker, one must take the 312-50 exam from Pearson/VUE for $1,199 or directly from EC-Council’s online exam platform for $950.

7. How is the structure of the Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) (312-50) exam?

The Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) (312-50) exam has 125 MCQs and lasts 4 hrs. The sliding pass score is 60–85%, based on the type of exam you receive.

8. Do I’ve to recertify my CEH?

From January 1st, 2009, all EC-Council certifications will be valid for 3yrs. But to keep your certification, you must achieve 120 credits/per certification during the 3 yrs after you certify.

9. What are the passing marks for the Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) (312-50) exam?

The candidate should score 70% marks to pass the CEH exam.

10. Where can I register for the EC-Council exams? And what are the registration charges? 

The candidate can register for the EC-Council exam at Pearson VUE. The registration fee for the EC-Council CEH is $950 (USD).