A professional ethical hacker’s role is to protect an organisation’s online assets. An ethical hacker may have a much broader role than penetration testers, who focus on just one or two potential vulnerabilities in a network. To put it simply, an ethical hacker approaches an organisation as if they were cyber criminals, replicating a malicious hacker at work but stopping short of committing the crime. Instead, they will report vulnerabilities and seek countermeasures to improve the system’s security.
An ethical hacker must possess specific skills to prevent unwarranted access to computers, servers, and other infrastructure components of an organisation. Therefore, ethical hackers must be equipped with the proper skills and knowledge when breaking into a system. There are many reasons one should learn ethical hacking, and enrolling in a Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) course would be highly beneficial. Read on to learn the essential skills needed for professional ethical hackers.
Computer knowledge
In hacking, potential threats are located by exploiting computer systems. To be an ethical hacker, you must possess a firm and solid understanding of computers. Processing data, managing computer files, and creating presentations are basic computer skills, while programming, database management, and spreadsheet calculations are some examples of advanced computer skills. Professional ethical hackers must, first and foremost, have a high level of computer literacy and knowledge to do their job successfully.
Cloud
Most enterprises heavily use cloud computing for collaborating on papers, operating programs, and backing up data. Thus, hackers could use the cloud to perform surveillance and develop a platform immune to attacks. A certification in ethical hacking provides a thorough understanding of the security flaws of cloud services such as Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure and more.
Computer programming
Programming skills are also essential for ethical hackers. Thorough experience in coding is the key to being a seasoned programmer. Before you can begin writing code, you must learn programming languages. Some examples of programming languages are:
- Python
- Query Language C
- JavaScript
- PHP
- C++
SQL skills
Hackers use SQL as one of their programming languages. Furthermore, SQL is a language used by cross-platform Web Hackers to communicate with databases. SQL injection can delete data from the database, bypass fragile web application login algorithms, and so on. It is essential to have SQL skills to become an effective ethical hacker.
Hardware knowledge
Although software knowledge is important, ethical hackers must also possess a basic knowledge of computer hardware. Computer hardware consists of the physical components of a computer, including the processor, monitor, keyboard, mouse, storage drive, graphics card, sound card, speakers, and motherboard.
Hackers need to know how a computer works to hack a computerised machine and gain access to the computer. Therefore, having basic hardware knowledge is the key to becoming an ethical hacker first.
Conclusion
The need for ethical hackers in any organisation is rising due to the many possibilities of cybersecurity attacks. A certified ethical hacker will benefit individuals or organisations looking to strengthen their cybersecurity processes.
At BridgingMinds, we offer the SF – Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) course to equip you with the necessary tools and skills for any professional ethical hacker. We also offer various courses ranging from DevOps training in Singapore to cybersecurity. PRINCE2 certification training is also available for project managers looking to improve their skillset. Contact us today to get started!
