Ethical Hacking

Hacking 

Hacking is the gaining of access to a computer and viewing, copying, or creating data without the intention of destroying data or maliciously harming the computer. Ethical Hacking is term used to describe hacking performed by a company or individual to help identify potential threats on a computer or network. The explosive growth of the Internet has brought many good things e.g. Electronic Commerce, Collaborative Computing, e-mail etc. As with most technological advances, there is also a dark side i.e. Criminal Hackers. Citizen, people of society, Governments and Companies around the world want to be a part of this revolution of technology, but they are afraid that some hacker will break into their Web server, read their e-mail, steal their credit card number from an on-line shopping site, or implant software that will secretly transmit their organization’s secrets to the open Internet. With these concerns and others, the ethical hacker can help. This paper describes about working and intention of ethical hackers: their skills, their attitudes, and how they go about helping their customers find resolve their security problems.
Hacker

The term ‘Hacker’ is defined as: A person who enjoys learning the details of computer systems and how to stretch their capabilities, contrary to most users of computers, who prefer to learn only the minimum amount necessary. Term ‘Hacker’ is also defined as:  One who programs actively or who enjoys programming rather than just theorizing about programming. Whether users programmed the computers to play games, draw pictures, or to help them with the problems of their daily work, once computers were available for use, there were a number of individuals wanting to use them. Because of this increasing demand and use of computers and their continued high cost, access to them was usually restricted. When users refused to access to the computers, some of them would challenge the access controls that had been put in place. They would steal passwords or account numbers, explore the system for bugs, or even take control of the whole system. They would do these things in order to be able to run the programs of their choice, or just to change or remove the limitations and restrictions under which their programs were running. Initially these computer intrusions were less in number. However, these intrusions did not stay kind and gentle for long. Occasionally the less talented, or less careful, intruders would accidentally bring down a system or damage its files, and the system administrators would have to restart it or make repairs. With the passage of time, when these intruders were again restricted and refused to access once their activities were traced, they would react with serious and destructive actions. When the number of these destructive computer intrusions became noticeable, due to the visibility of serious damage to the system, it became ‘NEWS’. Instead of using the more accurate term “Computer Criminal,” the media began using the term “hacker” to describe individuals who break into computers for damage, fun, revenge, or profit. 


What is Ethical Hacking?
With the growth of the Internet, computer security has become a major concern for businesses and governments. They want to be able to take advantage of the Internet for electronic commerce, advertising, information distribution and access, but they are worried about the possibility of being “hacked.” In their search for a way to approach the problem, organizations came to realize that one of the best ways to evaluate the intruder threat is that they would have independent computer security professionals attempt to break into their computer systems. They are called “Tiger Teams” or “Ethical Hackers”. In case of computer security, they would employ the same tools and techniques as the intruders, but they would neither damage the target systems nor steal information. Instead, they would evaluate the target systems’ security and report back to the owners with the threats they found and ways for how to solve them. This method of evaluating the security of a system has been in use from the early days of computers.
Who are ethical hackers?
Successful ethical hackers possess a variety of skills. First and most important is that they must be completely trustworthy. While testing the security of a client’s systems, the ethical hacker may discover information about the client that should remain secret. In many cases, if this information is publicized then it could lead to real intruders breaking into the systems, possibly leading to financial losses. During an evaluation, the ethical hacker often holds the “keys to the company,” and therefore must be trusted to exercise tight control over any information about a target that could be misused. The sensitivity of the information gathered during an evaluation requires that strong measures be taken to ensure the security of the systems being employed by the ethical hackers themselves. These strong measures are: limited-access labs with physical security protection, multiple secure Internet connections, a safe to hold paper documentation from clients, strong check and balance to protect electronic results, and isolated networks for testing. Ethical hackers typically have very strong programming and computer networking skills and have experience in the computer and networking field for several years. They are also skilled and expert at installing and maintaining systems that use the more popular operating systems (e.g., UNIX** or Windows NT**) used on target systems. These basic skills are improved with detailed knowledge of the hardware and software provided by the more popular computer and networking hardware vendors. An additional specialization in security is not always necessary, as strong skills in the other areas imply a very good understanding of how the security on various systems is maintained. A good candidate for ethical hacking has more skills and patience than most people. Unlike the way someone breaks into a computer in the movies, the work that ethical hackers do demands a lot of time, hard work and patience. This is a critical quality, since criminal hackers are known to be extremely patient and willing to monitor systems for days or weeks while waiting for an opportunity. A typical evaluation may require several days of boring and dull work that is difficult to do. When ethical hackers encounter a system with which they are unfamiliar, they will spend the time to learn about the system and try to find its weaknesses. Finally, keeping up with the ever-changing world of computer and network security requires continuous education and review. In the computer security, the ethical hacker’s task is the harder than a criminal hacker. On the Internet anyone can download criminal hacker tools and use them to attempt to break into computers anywhere in the world. Ethical hackers have to know the techniques of the criminal hackers, how their activities might be detected, and how to stop them.

   What ethical hackers do?
An ethical hacker’s seeks answers to three basic questions:
1.     What can an intruder see on the target systems?
2.     What can an intruder do with that information?
3.     Does anyone at the target notice the intruder’s attempts or successes?
 While the first and second of these are clearly important, the third is even more important.
If the owners or operators of the target systems do not notice when someone is trying to break in, the intruders can, and will, spend weeks or months trying and will usually eventually succeed. When the client requests an evaluation, there is quite a bit of discussion and paperwork that must be done up front. The discussion begins with the client’s answers to questions:
1.     What are you trying to protect?
2. What are you trying to protect against?
 3. How much time, effort, and money are you willing to expend to obtain adequate protection?
The client usually has to be guided to briefly describe all of the critical information assets for which loss could adversely affect the organization or its clients. These assets should also include secondary information sources, such as employee names and addresses, computer and network information, and other organizations with which this organization collaborates.


[  Top ten Hacking Countries:
As of 2013, following are top ten hacking countries:
                                i.            China
                              ii.            United States
                            iii.            Turkey
                           iv.            Russia
                             v.            Taiwan
                           vi.            Brazil
                         vii.            Romania
                       viii.            India
                           ix.            Italy
                              x.            Hungary



It is concluded that an average of 2000 Websites defaced each day.

Scope of Ethical Hacking

In USD,  as of May 2016, Average salary of  Certified Ethical Hacker is 81%  higher than average salaries of all other jobs nationwide.




   Conclusions
Technology is a huge field. Everyone wants to be a part of this world. With this increasing and never ending advancement in technology risks and threats to ones privacy is increasing whether it is an organization or an individual. Security threats will remain. With the usage of latest technology and gadgets, one should also be aware of risks and threats. Protection measures must be taken by an individual himself.
Regular auditing, vigilant intrusion detection, good system administration practice, and computer security awareness are all essential parts of an organization’s security efforts. The most skilled and talented individuals are hired by an organisation to analyse and evaluate the threats an organisation is being faced. Proper check and balance is maintained on Ethical Hacker as he knows all the ways to break into an organisation’s or individual’s system.
 A single failure in any of these areas could very well expose an organization, embarrassment, loss of revenue or mind share, or worse. Any new technology has its benefits and its risks. While ethical hackers can help clients better understand their security needs, it is up to the clients to keep their guards in place.


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