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What is Ethical Hacking? Understanding its Role in Cybersecurity

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Cybercrime has been up and advancing frighteningly in India in the recent past. As per the Cybercrime Cell of the Mumbai Police, more than 5000 complaints were reported in 2019 related to cyber fraud and cybercrime. And it is just one city. Around the country, thousands of individuals have been victims of phishing scams, ransomware, and other similar cyber threats.

A scary frequency of cyber targets and cyber-attacks and breaches bore witness to the pressing need for a cyber insurance policy in India. There are several crucial approaches to secure systems, of which Ethical Hacking is one of them.

What Is Ethical Hacking?

Often referred to as white hat hacking, ethical hacking is a legal practice in India where the hacker involves himself in testing the loopholes, and the defender knows the tactics of the attacker to help improve a system. It has great importance in the protection of information resources and in the defence of important data from unauthorised access.

In the Indian context, it has become imperative as more and more organisations and persons depend on digital DEMS and hence, are exposed to risks of cybercrimes. Firms are advised to take the ethical hacking way as their approach to avoid common hacking and data theft by creating a defence layer. Here, cyber security insurance policies play a great role as they offer financial reimbursement in case cyber – attacks are successful.

Also, there has been a realisation in India of the need to boost cybersecurity since the introduction of key laws as well as the code of ethics for organisations and IT professionals. Thus, ethical hackers, who were trained in compliance with industry practices, are among the most valuable assets that help improve the situation with cyber security in India.

It is also observed that ethical hacking has a much more important role in fighting cyber threats in India to protect the establishment’s digital platforms. People responsible for organisations’ IT security should be more active, cooperate with certified ethical hackers, and protect their companies and information by getting a cyber insurance policy.

Types of Ethical Hacking

Ethical Hacking is divided into different categories, each focusing on different aspects of a network system:

1. Penetration Testing: This is the most popular type of Ethical Hacking, and is mostly used among malicious agents. It refers to the use of an attack on a system, and then attempting to pass into this system.

2. Social Engineering: This form of Ethical Hacking is directed at persons and not machines. Personal information is then gathered by people using tricks and personal persuasions.

3. Wireless Security Testing: Since most people are catering for their needs through wireless networks, the issue of protecting Wireless Networks has become paramount. Wireless security testing is carried out with a view to exposing weaknesses in wireless networks and how they may be protected against threats.

4. Application Testing: By design, applications have numerous opportunities for being hacked through bugs or a weakness in their design. Application Testing plays an important role in revealing some of these weaknesses within software applications.

Types of Hacking/Hackers

Hacking is usually categorised into two types: White hat and Black hat.

1. White Hat Hacking

Ethical Hacking also called Ethical Hacking is done by hacking into an organisation’s system with the owner’s consent. the goal of White Hat Hackers is to increase the security of the Systems and point out the flaws and changes required to rectify the situation.

2. Black Hat Hacking

On the other hand, Black Hat Hacking means hacking a system without the system owner or administrator’s permission. The basic purpose of Black Hat Hackers is to hurt, steal or interfere with the regular functions of the system.

There are also what we call Grey Hat Hackers which can be considered in between a White Hat and Black Hat Hacker. While they gain unauthorised and often unlawful access to a system solely purposed at profiting from perceived vulnerabilities, they might not be totally off base.

Phases of Ethical Hacking

The Ethical Hacking process consists of the following phases:

1. Planning and Information Gathering

Information on the target network, the operating system and the software used in the target system formation is gathered in this phase. Additional social engineering penetration could also be used at this time to gain information from the employees of the target company.

2. Scanning and Vulnerability Assessment

In this phase, the hacker carries out a network scan to identify systems running, ports present in the target system, and weaknesses in the target system. It also includes the identification of firewalls and intrusion detection systems.

3. Gaining Access

Once you have found your target's weak points, the Ethical Hacker will attempt to compromise these points in order to penetrate the target system. The softball part of the process can be doing a password crack, exploiting vulnerabilities in the software, or social engineering tricks.

4. Maintaining Access and Covering Tracks

After infiltration, the hacker strives to prolong control of the system and to conceal his actions from other users to carry out his objectives.

5. Reporting and Remediation

Lastly, the Ethical Hacker presents findings on the discovered vulnerabilities and likely consequences of each to the management. They also recommend measures to remediate the identified vulnerability aspects of security.

Benefits of Ethical Hacking

1. Protecting Sensitive Information: Ethical Hacking also has a component that lets us know the vulnerable area which can be a cause for data breach and that point itself protects the information based on that.

2. Reducing the Risk of Financial Losses: Ethical hacking minimises the probability of incurring losses through cyber-attacks and thus saves the company from procuring a cyber insurance policy and other costs.

3. Ensuring Compliance: Ethical Hacking helps align the actions taken in regard to cybersecurity with best practices within the industry and with the law.

4. Enhancing Organisational Reputation: As a result, conducting Ethical Hacking on a regular basis maintains the company’s reputation, by safeguarding its systems against possible cyber threats.

FAQs on Ethical Hacking

1. Is Ethical Hacking Legal?

Yes, Ethical Hacking is legal when done with the express permission of the owner of the system in question.

2. What is the main difference between Ethical Hacking and Cybersecurity?

Ethical Hacking is one of the branches of Cybersecurity. Cybersecurity is the overall safety measures taken in a company to protect its systems from cyber criminals and Ethical Hacking is when we test out the vulnerabilities that an organisation's systems can have.

3. So is ethical hacking useful to prevent ransomware attacks?

The use of ethical hacking can also be used to find more weak points which can be exploited by ransomware. In addressing these vulnerabilities, organisations can decrease the risk of ransomware attacks by a large magnitude.

Conclusion

Today with the fast advancement in the use of digital technology, the issue of security has become sensitive. As the processes of more and more organisations migrate online, the threat of hackers and data leakage is going up. Ethical hacking helps prevent dangers because the practice is a succession plan to counter incipient threats. In the Identification of the risks, Ethical Hackers reduce the possibility of danger and safeguard valuable information. The need for Ethical Hacking and cyber insurance policies will continue to increase as the world advances in the digital path.

Disclaimer: The above information is for illustrative purposes only. For more details, please refer to the policy wordings and prospectus before concluding the sales.

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