Ethical Hacker

An ethical hacker, also referred to as a white hat hacker, is an information security (InfoSec) expert who penetrates a computer system, network, application or other computing resource on behalf of its owners -- and with their authorization. Organizations call on ethical hackers to uncover potential security vulnerabilities that malicious hackers could exploit.

The purpose of ethical hacking is to evaluate the security of and identify vulnerabilities in target systems, networks or system infrastructure. The process entails finding and then attempting to exploit vulnerabilities to determine whether unauthorized access or other malicious activities are possible.

What is ethical hacking?

An ethical hacker needs deep technical expertise in InfoSec to recognize potential attack vectors that threaten business and operational data. People employed as ethical hackers typically demonstrate applied knowledge gained through recognized industry certifications or university computer science degree programs and through practical experience working with security systems.

Ethical hackers generally find security exposures in insecure system configurations, known and unknown hardware or software vulnerabilities, and operational weaknesses in process or technical countermeasures. Potential security threats of malicious hacking include distributed denial-of-service attacks in which multiple computer systems are compromised and redirected to attack a specific target, which can include any resource on the computing network.

An ethical hacker is given wide latitude by an organization to legitimately and repeatedly attempt to breach its computing infrastructure. This involves exploiting known attack vectors to test the resiliency of an organization's infosec posture.

Ethical hackers use many of the same methods and techniques to test IT security measures, as do their unethical counterparts, or black hat hackers. However, rather than taking advantage of vulnerabilities for personal gain, ethical hackers document threat intelligence to help organizations remediate network security through stronger infosec policies, procedures and technologies.

Any organization that has a network connected to the internet or that provides an online service should consider subjecting its operating environment to penetration testing (pen testing) conducted by ethical hackers.

What do ethical hackers do?

Ethical hackers can help organizations in a number of ways, including the following:

• Finding vulnerabilities. Ethical hackers help companies determine which of their IT security measures are effective, which need updating and which contain vulnerabilities that can be exploited. When ethical hackers finish evaluating an organization's systems, they report back to company leaders about those vulnerable areas, which may include a lack of sufficient password encryption, insecure applications or exposed systems running unpatched software. Organizations can use the data from these tests to make informed decisions about where and how to improve their security posture to prevent cyber-attacks.
• Demonstrating methods used by cybercriminals. These demonstrations show executives the hacking techniques that malicious actors could use to attack their systems and wreak havoc on their businesses. Companies that have in-depth knowledge of the methods the attackers use to break into their systems are better able to prevent those incursions.
• Helping to prepare for a cyber-attack. Cyber-attacks can cripple or destroy a business -- especially a smaller business -- but most companies are still unprepared for cyber-attacks. Ethical hackers understand how threat actors operate, and they know how these bad actors will use new information and techniques to attack systems. Security professionals who work with ethical hackers are better able to prepare for future attacks because they can better react to the constantly changing nature of online threats.

Ethical hacking vs. penetration testing

Pen testing and ethical hacking are often used as interchangeable terms, but there is some nuance that distinguishes the two roles. Many organizations will use both ethical hackers and pen testers to bolster IT security.

Ethical hackers routinely test IT systems looking for flaws and to stay abreast of ransomware or emerging computer viruses. Their work often entails pen tests as part of an overall IT security assessment.

Pen testers seek to accomplish many of the same goals, but their work is often conducted on a defined schedule. Pen testing is also more narrowly focused on specific aspects of a network, rather than on ongoing overall security.

For example, the person performing the pen testing may have limited access only to the systems that are subject to testing and only for the duration of the testing.

Ethical hacking techniques

Ethical hackers generally use the same hacking skills that malicious actors use to attack enterprises. They use a form of reverse-engineering to imagine scenarios that could compromise business and operational data. The varied techniques and tools are part of an overall vulnerability assessment the ethical hacker performs on a client's behalf.

Some of these hacking techniques include the following:

• scanning ports to find vulnerabilities with port scanning tools, such as Nmap, Nessus, Wireshark and others, looking at a company's systems, identifying open ports, studying the vulnerabilities of each port and recommending remedial action;
• scrutinizing patch installation processes to be sure that the updated software doesn't introduce new vulnerabilities that can be exploited;
• performing network traffic analysis and sniffing by using appropriate tools;
• attempting to evade intrusion detection systems, intrusion prevention systems, honeypots and firewalls; and
• Testing methods to detect Structured Query Language injection to ensure malicious hackers can't introduce security exploits that expose sensitive information contained in SQL-based relational databases.

Ethical hackers also rely on social engineering techniques to manipulate end users and obtain information about an organization's computing environment. Like black hat hackers, ethical hackers rummage through postings on social media or GitHub, engage employees in phishing attacks through email or texting, or roam through premises with a clipboard to exploit vulnerabilities in physical security. However, there are social engineering techniques that ethical hackers should not use, such as making physical threats to employees or other types of attempts to extort access or information.

How to become an ethical hacker

There are no standard education criteria for an ethical hacker, so an organization can set its own requirements for that position. Those interested in pursuing a career as an ethical hacker should consider a bachelor's or master's degree in infosec, computer science or even mathematics as a strong foundation.

Individuals not planning to attend college can consider pursing an infosec career in the military. Many organizations consider a military background a plus for infosec hiring, and some organizations are required to hire individuals with security clearances.

Other technical subjects -- including programming, scripting, networking and hardware engineering -- can help those pursuing a career as ethical hackers by offering a fundamental understanding of the underlying technologies that form the systems they will be working on. Other pertinent technical skills include system administration and software development.

Different types of hackers

Hacking is not always clear-cut. A gray hat hacker may expose a security exploit and publicize the findings but may not alert the system owner to take action. Gray hat hackers can provide valuable assessments of security vulnerabilities, although some also may trade this information for personal gain.

Green hat hackers are generally aspiring hackers who lack the technical acumen but display aptitude and interest in learning how to successfully hack computer machinery. Green hat hackers may include people involved in hacktivism and cyber espionage.

Blue hat hackers comprise two different types of hackers. The first type is a person skilled enough with malware to compromise computer systems, usually as a form of retaliation for perceived or real slights. Learning the trade is not a priority for this type of individual. The second type refers to someone asked to participate in Microsoft's invitation-only BlueHat security conference. Microsoft used ethical hackers to execute beta testing on unreleased products, looking for deficiencies in infosec in early software versions.

Red hat hackers are ethical hackers who specialize in cracking Linux-based systems. But, rather than turning black hats over to authorities, red hats execute a form of reverse-hacking measures to cripple the compute resources of a black hat.