How to Become an Ethical Hacker

Now-a-days, most of the people are fascinated about the word Ethical Hacking and to pursue their career in Ethical Hacking. Ethical Hacking is the perfect choice to those who are interested in field of IT security.

An Essential Guide to Become a White Hat Hacker

I have been working in the field of cybersecurity since 2 years. Many of my friends and colleagues have been asking for guidance on how to become a white hat hacker. So, Let’s us look at the definition of an Ethical Hacker or a White Hat Hacker.

Ethical Hacker:- Ethical Hackers are “the individuals who use their hacking skills for defensive purposes”. They are also called as White Hat Hackers. Now-a-days, most of the organizations hire white hat hackers as security analysts such that they perform penetration testing to ensure the security of an organization with the permission of the system owner.

Ethical Hackers

Prerequisite Required

To enter into the field of IT security, the following are the prerequisite knowledge required

• Learn to Program in C, C++
• Learn Unix and its Bash
• Learn Scripting Languages such as Python, JavaScript
• Learn Databases such as MySQL, MongoDB
• Learn more than one Operating Systems
• Learn Networking Concepts
• Learn Cryptography

If you have good knowledge in the above prerequisites, then you can start learning about Ethical Hacking. If you are good at fundamentals of IT, then you can learn how to break into computers using some of the underlying vulnerabilities.

Say No to Illegal

Ethical Hacking is the practice of employing computer and network skills in order to assist organizations in testing their network security for possible vulnerabilities with the permission of an owner. Don’t intrude anyone’s system or network without their permission. Engaging in malicious activities might put you in jail and also leads to career spoil.

Areas to focus in order to build strong foundation

Programming — Learn to program in C, C++, Java , etc. Following are some open source links to learn programming

• https://www.programiz.com/c-programming
• https://www.cprogramming.com/
• https://www.codecademy.com/learn/learn-java

Networking — Networking concepts are the most important in order to pursue your career in field of IT security. You can learn networking from Cisco courses which are good enough. Following is the roadmap to Cisco courses

Source:- firewall.cx | Cisco Roadmap

Databases — Learn Databases like MySQL and MongoDB and also learn to make your own databases. You can explore MySQL and MongoDB certification paths from the links below

• https://education.oracle.com/oracle-certification-paths-all
• https://university.mongodb.com/certification

Operating Systems — Learn one or more operating systems. Most types of Linux are similar to one another. You have to learn especially the following operating systems

• Kali Linux
• Windows 7, 8, 10, Xp
• Windows Server 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016
• Parrot OS

Cryptography — To become successful Ethical Hacker, you should have well-versed knowledge of cryptography. In cryptography, Encryption and Decryption are the most important skills. Encryption is used in authentication, confidentiality, and integrity of data. Information on a network is encrypted in form of passwords. While hacking, these passwords are broken which is called as decryption.

Top 5 Linux Distributions for Hacking Purpose

• Kali Linux
• Black Box
• Parrot Security OS
• Black Arch Linux
• DEFT (Digital Evidence and Forensic Toolkit)

Best Books for reading about Ethical Hacking

• The Hacker’s Playbook 1, 2 & 3
• Linux Basics for Hackers
• Metasploit — The Penetration Tester’s Guide
• Hacking — The art of Exploitation
• Serious Cryptography — A Practical Introduction to Modern Encryption
• The TCP/IP Guide — A Comprehensive, Illustrated Internet Protocols Reference

Free Ethical Hacking Courses

You can undertake some free ethical hacking courses which doesn’t give you any industry-recognized value. But, undertaking these free ethical hacking courses gives you some basic idea about ethical hacking concepts before moving on to certification paths. Some of the free ethical hacking resources are as follows

• Cybrary
• Udemy

Knowing Latest Hardware Tools

A skilled Ethical Hacker always explores different tools to complete the task. Here are some hardware tools required to complete the task which are as follows

• Hacker-warehouse
• Hak5
• Hacker Equipment
• Hack-a-Day
• SPY Goodies

Industry Recognized Certifications

Following are some of the online courses and industry-recognized certifications which helps you to be in the field of IT Security.

• Certified Ethical Hacker — CEH
• Offensive Security Certified Professional — OSCP
• CompTIA Security+
• Computer Hacking and Forensic Investigation — CHFI
• Certified Information Systems Security Professional — CISSP

Certification Roadmaps

Following are some certification roadmaps

EC-Council Roadmap

Offensive Security Roadmap

Read News Channels

Following are some of the news channels for reading Hacking and Cyber Security Related News

• The Hacker News
• Cyber Safe News
• Cyber Security Hub

Social Media

Communicate and follow other fellow IT security Enthusiasts through the following mediums

• Facebook (The Hacker News, Cyber Safe News)
• Twitter (The Hacker News, Cyber Safe News)
• Instagram(Cyber Safe News)
• LinkedIn (The Hacker News, Cyber Security Hub)

Unique Tools

Works on different unique tools by downloading practice environments to practice and refine newly learned skills

• Burp Suite
• Wire Shark
• Metasploitable2
• Samurai WTF
• DVWA — Damn Vulnerable Web Application

Self-Learning

You can learn by your own by watching online tutorials. Some of them are below

• Security Tube
• Pen tester Academy
• Hackers Academy

Attend Local and International Hacking Conferences

Like other IT areas, hacking has conventions and conferences dedicated to it, such as DefCon, one of the oldest and largest of these. Such gatherings can be a great place to meet and network with peers and employers, and to discover more about hacking. DefCon also has affiliated local groups in select areas. Follow Instagram @cybersafe.news for upcoming event info.

Ethical Hackers Income

Ethical Hackers can command a high salary for the work they do. The median yearly pay for information security analysts, which includes ethical hackers and penetration testers, was $90,00 in 2019. The top ten percent of earners in this field made more than $130,000.

Job Prospects

The amount of money spent worldwide for IT security can be measured in the tens of billions of dollars and has increased significantly over the past few years. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) indicates that information security analysts, which includes ethical hackers, can expect to see jobs increase by 28% from 2016 to 2026. This is four times the national average job growth rate for the same time period, which is 7%.

How can I find a job as a Hacker?

Hackers can find work with many different kinds of organizations, including the government. Working for the government with groups like the Departments of Defense or Homeland Security typically requires earning a security clearance, which involves passing an extensive background check.

Making contacts within the hacker community can help you find job opportunities. Hackers are heavily recruited by all types of organizations looking to secure their IT systems, and participating in events like hacking conferences and conventions can put you in contact with colleagues and recruiters.