Friday, April 19, 2024

Ethical Hacking: Future of Cybersecurity

Ethical Hacking

Ethical hacking incorporates a supported undertaking to secure unapproved induction to a PC system, application, or data. Doing an ethical hack includes copying procedures and activities of pernicious aggressors. This training assists with distinguishing security weaknesses which can then be settled before a malignant assailant has the chance to take advantage of them.

Ethical Hacker

A white-cap ethical hacker is a programmer who takes advantage of for some incredible reason, (for example, to secure some association). The great individuals are essentially moral programmers. They have lawful authorization to slow down the program of others. The ethical programmer searches ports, and sites and finds bugs that can be designated by a wafer. When the shortcomings of any gadget are known, the assaults should be possible without any problem. To be protected in this web world, the client is required to figure out how a programmer (saltine) can get into his organization. Moral hacking is learning the origination of hacking and applying them to get any system, or organization for any extraordinary reason.

How Does an Ethical Hacker Different from Other Hackers

Ethical hacker utilizes their insight to get and work on the innovation of associations. They offer fundamental support to these associations by searching for weaknesses that can prompt a security break. An ethical programmer reports the distinguished weaknesses to the association. Also, they give remediation exhortation. A large part of the time, with the affiliation's consent, the moral software engineer plays out a re-test to ensure the shortcomings are settled. malicious hacker means to acquire unapproved admittance to an asset (the more delicate the better) for monetary benefit or individual acknowledgment. A few noxious programmers ruin sites or crash backend servers for no particular reason, notoriety harm, or to cause monetary misfortune. The techniques utilized and weaknesses found stay unreported. They aren't worried about further developing the association's security posture.

Advantages of Ethical Hacking

1.      This helps prevent malicious hacking attempts. Ethical hackers can help organizations develop systems that are better prepared to detect and block malicious hacking attempts and ensure their data is well protected.

2.      This can reduce international threats. Ethical hacking can often help reduce the number of international threats that public and private organizations may experience, such as national security breaches.

3.      This allows companies to better protect their financial assets. Ethical hackers can help banks and other financial institutions implement measures to increase the security of their networks so they can better protect their customers' money and increase trust.

4.      This can help reduce cybercrime. Ethical hacking can help cybersecurity organizations and government agencies develop ways to detect and prevent cybercrime and cyberterrorism by teaching them new malicious coding techniques.

Disadvantages Of Ethical Hacking

1.      It has the potential ability to corrupt an organization's files or data.

2.      They may use the collected important information for malicious purposes. As a result, it takes reliable developers to succeed in this particular framework.

3.      Employing such people increases the company's costs.

4.      This method may compromise someone's privacy. This system is unconstitutional.

Types of Ethical Hacking

1.      black box Testing: In black-box testing, the programmer has no earlier information on the framework and is trying the product from outside the framework before entering it using a beast force approach. For instance, on the off chance that you were trying a site, you probably won't understand what sort of server it's running on or what programming dialects were utilized to make it. This hacking type is much of the time considered one of the most hazardous kinds of hacking in digital protection and is utilized to distinguish security openings in an organization or framework that an assailant could take advantage of. They unlawfully get close enough to private data like Mastercard numbers or ledgers, which they then, at that point, sell or use for unlawful purposes like data fraud or extortion.

2.      White box testing: In white box testing, the hacker has a deep understanding of the framework, how it works, and its shortcomings before he attempts to break into the framework. White-box testing is frequently finished by designers who need to perceive how well their frameworks hold up under tension before they discharge them into creation conditions where assailants might attempt to air out them. They work intimately with IT offices and follow organization strategy, so they can figure out what's going on within without overstepping any regulations. They likewise guarantee that nobody hacks into their manager's framework.

3.      Gray box Testing: This is a blend between white-box and black-box testing; the analyzer has some information about the framework but not every last bit of it, so they need to utilize rational thinking abilities and their specialized information to find weaknesses inside the framework or organization being tried. black caps at times utilize their abilities for good and pernicious purposes, for example, taking cash from banks or different organizations through PC infections they make (and that implies they could be viewed as black).

The instances of grey box testing incorporate regions like

·         Convenience Tests

·         Execution Tests

·         Security Tests

4.      Web Application Hacking: Web application hacking type is the most common way of taking advantage of safety weaknesses or shortcomings in online applications. Web applications are commonly written in dialects like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript; however, they can likewise be written in different dialects like PHP and Ruby on Rails. Due to the idea of these dialects and how internet browsers decipher them, it is feasible to perform explicit activities on a site without really being approved. One illustration of this would be cross-webpage prearranging (XSS), which includes infusing pernicious code into a site's HTML. If you can create an XSS assault appropriately, you can seize the program's meeting with the server while never approaching their username or secret key.

5.      Hacking wireless organization: Hacking remote organizations is a hacking type that includes getting to a PC network without approval, regularly by taking advantage of flimsy spots in the framework's security. A phenomenal illustration of this is the act of wardriving, where an aggressor cruise all over with a PC or other gadget fit for getting remote signs, searching for unprotected or ineffectively safeguarded networks.

6.      Social engineering: Social engineering means to convince individuals to uncover their secret data. The assailant deludes individuals since they trust them and need information. There are three sorts of social engineering: human-based, portable-based, and PC based. As security arrangements slacken and there are no equipment or programming devices to forestall social designing assaults, distinguishing them is troublesome.

7.       system hacking: System hacking is the penance of a program to get to the designated PC to take their delicate data. The programmer exploits the shortcomings in a PC system to get the data and information and makes use of the advantage. System hacking expects to get entrance, raise honors, and conceal records.

8.      Web server hacking: Web content is produced as a product application on the server side continuously. This permits the programmers to go after the webserver to take private data, information, passwords, and business data by utilizing DoS assaults, port sweeps, SYN floods, and Sniffing. Programmers hack web servers to acquire monetary benefits from burglary, damage, coercion, blackmail, and so forth.

Case Studies on Ethical Hacking

Source: Https://Www.Knowledgehut.Com/Blog/Security/Ethical-Hacking-Case-Study

1.      WordPress cracked user data- Back in 2019, a new plugin was released for WordPress called Social Network Tabs. As you know, most people use WordPress to make their websites. This plugin became very popular, but no one knew about the vulnerability. It helped users share their website content on social media. Baptiste Robert was a French security researcher known online by his username Elliot Alderson. He found a flaw in the plugin that MITER identified as CVE-2018-20555. You can find this case and the corresponding case study in the Ethical Hacking PDF file online. You must be wondering what exactly caused this plugin bug. A bug in the plugin compromised a user's Twitter account. Since the extension is linked to the user's social media account, the vulnerability leaked the user's social media data. Roberto was the first to discover the leak and quickly reported it to Twitter, which helped protect the accounts of users affected by the leak.

2.      Vulnerability in Oracle's WebLogic Servers- In 2019 Oracle released a security update without notice. This surprised fans until they found out why it happened. The security patch was a very critical update that fixed a code vulnerability in the WebLogic Server. The vulnerability was discovered by the security firm KnownSec404. The vulnerability was named CVE-2019-2729, which received a rating of 9.8/10, which is quite high. The vulnerability left it open to attacks by hackers targeting two applications that the server left open to the Internet.

3.      Visa card vulnerability that allowed payment restrictions to be bypassed
This was one of the most famous ethical hacking cases publicized on the Internet. It happened on July 29, 2019. Two security researchers from a company called Positive Technologies discovered a security hole in Visa contactless cards that allowed hackers to bypass payment limits. This breach of their security would result in huge losses for the company. This incident sparked an interest in ethical hacking. As a result, some students started taking cybersecurity course certificates online to learn more. This was noticed by Tim Yunusov, head of security at the bank, and Leigh-Anne Galloway, head of cybersecurity resilience. It was announced how five major UK banks were targeted. Visa cards used to have a contactless verification limit of £30, but this weakness allowed hackers to bypass the limit.

4.      What happened to Zomato-  In 2017, Zomato, one of the largest online restaurant guides and food-ordering apps, was hacked by a hacker. The hacker aimed for five things. Names, Emails, Numeric Usernames ID, Usernames, Passwords. The data loss reached millions, as 17 million users were targeted. Before negotiating with the company, the hacker was able to put this information on the dark web so anyone could buy it. This was one of the most shocking ethical hacking cases in India. It also made people question the cyber security of the country. When this incident came to light, Zomato published some blogs talking about the real person behind this breach. The work was said to have been done by an ethical hacker who wanted to highlight the issue of national cyber security. It worked when the whole country started talking about cyber security.

5.      Mac Zoom Can Be Hacked, Camera Exposed- Jonathan Leitschuh disclosed a very critical vulnerability in Apple Macs on July 9, 2019. This lack of security framework allowed hackers to take control of a user's front-facing camera. As a result, many websites can force a user to participate in a Zoom call without their knowledge or permission. It was a breach of privacy, and millions of people holding meetings or using Zoom in general were at risk. This is an important case of ethical hacking as it was hacked on social media to make people aware. That same day, Apple sent a fix, which was a simple patch that users can download and install to fix the problem. Zoom also wasted no time in releasing a hotfix to fix the problem.

Conclusion

In conclusion, ethical hacking stands at the forefront of cybersecurity, offering a proactive approach to identifying and mitigating potential threats before they can be exploited by malicious actors. Ethical hackers, also known as white-hat hackers, play a crucial role in safeguarding organizations' digital assets and data by leveraging their expertise to uncover vulnerabilities and recommend remediation measures. The advantages of ethical hacking are evident, including its ability to prevent malicious hacking attempts, reduce international threats, protect financial assets, and mitigate cybercrime. However, there are also certain disadvantages to consider, such as the potential for corruption of organizational files, misuse of collected information, increased costs, and privacy concerns. Various types of ethical hacking, such as black box testing, white box testing, gray box testing, web application hacking, wireless network hacking, social engineering, system hacking, and web server hacking, offer diverse approaches to assessing and fortifying cybersecurity defenses. Furthermore, real-world case studies highlight the critical role of ethical hacking in identifying and addressing vulnerabilities in widely used platforms and systems, thereby preventing potential data breaches and safeguarding user privacy. As technology continues to advance, the importance of ethical hacking in ensuring digital security will only grow. Organizations must recognize the value of ethical hackers and invest in robust cybersecurity measures to protect against evolving threats in the digital landscape.


By

Divneet Kaur Ahuja, M.A Economics (2022-2024), School of Behavioural and Social Science (SBSS), Manav Rachna International Institute of Research and Studies (MRIIRS), Faridabad, Haryana. divneetahuja01@gmail.com

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