What Is Ethical Hacking?

Hacking often carries a negative connotation, but not all hackers have malicious intent. Ethical hacking, also known as white hat hacking, is intended to help an organization instead of harm it. It is an area of cybersecurity dedicated to protecting sensitive data and improving an organization’s security measures.

But how does ethical hacking work? And how can you explore a future in this field? Read on to answer all these questions and more.

Breaking Down Ethical Hacking

Ethical vs. Malicious Hacking

IBM defines hacking as the use of “unconventional or illicit means” to gain unauthorized access to a digital device, network, or computer system. It’s normally associated with malicious hacking, which involves cracking into such resources to cause harm.

Malicious hackers are often motivated by personal or financial gain. They commonly target banks, enterprises, governments, hospitals, military websites, and individuals. As IBM states, they typically “earn their pay” by:

• Stealing sensitive data, such as login credentials, credit card numbers, or Social Security numbers
• Extorting victims by holding sensitive information, devices, or business operations hostage until they pay a ransom
• Conducting corporate espionage to steal trade secrets, intellectual property, and other confidential information

A malicious hacker can also launch an attack out of revenge. For example, a disgruntled employee may retaliate against their employer for a perceived slight, such as being passed over for a promotion.

Ethical hacking serves the opposite purpose. IBM explains it as “the use of hacking techniques by friendly parties in an attempt to uncover, understand, and fix security vulnerabilities.”

“Ethical hackers are paid by organizations to test the security of the organization,” says Randy Stauber, MS, faculty member in the School of Business and Information Technology at Purdue Global. “Even though they know how to breach organizations, they do not because they are ethical. They must be trusted by the organizations they work for, and that trust is critical.”

According to CompTIA Security, an ethical hacker differs from a malicious hacker in several ways:

• Their primary goal is to look for gaps in the system’s security measures.
• They use several legal methods to test systems in addition to gaining access through illegal pathways.
• They follow a strict code of ethics when conducting their work.

Types of Ethical Hacking

An ethical hack can involve several hacking techniques, according to EC-Council:

• Social engineering: A social engineering approach aims to manipulate targets and trick them into revealing sensitive information, such as a username and password.
• Web application hacking: Attackers can exploit application security flaws that organizations may not realize exist. Common security vulnerabilities include issues with user authentication.
• Web server hacking: EC-Council reports that servers are subject to similar security flaws. For instance, they may inadvertently expose sensitive data. They might also be susceptible to denial-of-service attacks that overwhelm the system with too much traffic.
• Wireless network hacking: Ethical hackers also test network security to ensure cybercriminals can’t gain unauthorized access. They may look for rogue access points or exploit encryption issues to intercept traffic and steal information.
• System hacking: Attackers often target specific systems within a company’s infrastructure, allowing them to install viruses, ransomware, and other cyber threats. Ethical hacking assessments involve searching for vulnerabilities that enable this, such as weak passwords or excessive user privileges.

Why Is Ethical Hacking Important?

Modern society heavily depends on information technology. From transportation and communication systems to medical facilities and the electrical grid, critical infrastructures are increasingly digital.

However, as the researchers state, “our physical world is becoming even more intertwined with the virtual one,” especially with the development of smart cars, drones, medical devices, and the Internet of Things. Now, any disruption of internet services or information infrastructure could significantly impact an entire country.

At the same time, cyber threats are becoming more common. The U.S. government received a record number of cybersecurity complaints in 2023, with potential losses exceeding $12.5 billion. That marked a 10% increase in complaints from the previous year and a 22% increase in losses. IBM’s annual Cost of a Data Breach Report states that the average data breach causes $4.88 million in damage — the highest total in the study’s history.

Rising cybercrime has created a need for ethical hacking services. Ethical hacking’s primary benefit is its ability to prevent a data breach from compromising sensitive information. However, it can also help:

• Discover vulnerabilities from an attacker’s perspective so they can be fixed
• Enhance network security to prevent unauthorized access
• Defend national security by protecting data from terrorists
• Improve customer and investor trust by securing their data and products

Ethical hacking assessments can identify common security flaws by simulating a malicious attack. As cybersecurity vendor Splunk says, this can include:

• Broken authentication systems
• Components with known vulnerabilities
• Sensitive data exposure
• Security misconfigurations
• Injection attacks

Types of Hackers

The cybersecurity industry uses many different terms and names to describe and classify hackers, usually based on their intent. There are three main categories:

• White hat: “A white hat hacker is an ethical hacker,” Stauber says. They don’t have malicious intent; instead, they aim to uncover potential vulnerabilities and find solutions to fix them.
• Black hat: “A black hat hacker exploits security vulnerabilities for profit, selling the data using the exploited network for nefarious purposes,” Stauber explains.
• Gray hat: A gray hat hacker is somewhere in between. According to Stauber, they’re not typically under contract with the target company but will inform them about any potential vulnerability they discover. “However, if the company doesn’t fix the problem, they may release the data to the public or competitors,” he adds.

An Ethical Hacker’s Code of Ethics

Ethical hackers adopt a strict code of conduct to build a trusting relationship with their clients. According to The Ethics of Cybersecurity, this establishes a relationship similar to that between a medical doctor and their patients or a lawyer and their clients.

During penetration testing or a vulnerability assessment, the ethical hacker might discover trade secrets, confidential information, or other types of sensitive data. Thus, companies need assurance that the white hat hacker won’t misuse or abuse their privileged access.

Although exact guidelines may vary among hackers and organizations, the typical code of ethics contains rules guaranteeing the hacker will:

• Obtain written permission from the companies they hack
• Act honestly and stay within the scope of their client’s expectations
• Respect the company’s and its employees’ privacy
• Use scientific, state-of-the-art, and documented processes
• Remove any trace of their activities and not introduce any backdoors to the system
• Inform software and hardware vendors about security vulnerabilities in their products

Limitations of Ethical Hacking

Ethical hackers are required to operate within certain boundaries and with limited resources. Black Duck, an application security testing firm, explains that an ethical hack cannot progress beyond the agreed-upon scope to make an attack successful. However, they can discuss out-of-scope security vulnerabilities with the client.

Also, ethical hackers are limited by scarce resources. While malicious hackers don’t have time constraints or defined budgets, white hats must stay within these parameters.

How Does Ethical Hacking Work?

The ethical hacking lifecycle is divided into five phases:

1. Reconnaissance

Ethical hacking assessments begin by gathering information about the target. Reconnaissance can include either active or passive techniques:

• Active reconnaissance involves directly interacting with the target system. However, this method risks tipping off the target.
• Passive reconnaissance involves collecting data without direct contact, which makes it untraceable.

For example, ethical hackers might use social engineering tactics, such as phishing emails, to manipulate employees into revealing their login credentials.

2. Scanning

Next, the ethical hacker scans the system to search for vulnerabilities they can exploit. Scanning helps them identify open ports, active devices, and services with known security flaws. At this stage, common hacking techniques include:

• Network mapping: This entails generating a visual map to show the network’s topology with tools such as SolarWinds.
• Banner grabbing: The hacker collects information about software versions to help them pinpoint a potential vulnerability.
• Ping sweeps: This involves sending requests to identify active hosts on the network.

3. Gaining Access

Once they’ve discovered security vulnerabilities, the ethical hacker will try to gain unauthorized access with the information they’ve gathered. EC-Council states that this can involve techniques such as:

• Password cracking: This entails using brute force attacks to crack passwords and access user accounts.
• Privilege escalation: Hackers may also attempt to exploit vulnerabilities in a system, such as a bug, design flaw, or configuration error, to gain higher access than what was originally granted.
• Man-in-the-middle (MITM): MITM attacks intercept communications between two parties, allowing the ethical hacker to steal sensitive data.

4. Maintaining Access

Once inside the system, the white hat hacker must remain there long enough to take further action and gather more information. They might do so by:

• Installing backdoors to create permanent pathways to access the system later
• Creating unauthorized user accounts with administrative privileges
• Capturing users’ keystroke entries to acquire confidential details, such as passwords

5. Covering Tracks

Finally, after maintaining a successful cyberattack, the hacker will try to hide any proof of it happening. The point is to ensure they can’t be identified or traced via their attack methodology.

To do so, they may:

• Delete or modify log files to erase evidence of their activities
• Hide malicious files or data within legitimate files
• Change the timestamps of modified files to mislead investigators
• Erase command histories to prevent detection

Examples of Ethical Hacking

Ethical hackers have helped organizations uncover and resolve security vulnerabilities numerous times in the past few years. HackRead reports the following examples:

• Twitter: In 2019, French researcher Baptiste Robert found a vulnerability in a WordPress plugin that inadvertently exposed Twitter users’ personal data. He informed Twitter (which now goes by X) of this issue, and the company revoked the plugin’s keys to eliminate the threat.
• Oracle: Security firm KnownSec404 identified two security flaws that allowed attackers to take control of Oracle’s WebLogic servers. Once aware of these issues, Oracle released a security update to patch them and protect its customers.
• Apple and Zoom: In July 2019, security researcher Jonathan Leitschuh disclosed a vulnerability that enabled malicious websites to open Mac users’ cameras on Zoom. It could also force users to join a Zoom call without their permission. This early warning helped Apple and Zoom resolve the issue before it could impact their millions of users.

How to Become an Ethical Hacker

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), employment for computer and information technology occupations is projected to increase through 2033. If you’re interested in becoming a cybersecurity professional, such as a certified ethical hacker, you can begin at Purdue Global.

Purdue Global’s online bachelor's degree in cybersecurity program includes course topics such as ethical hacking, intrusion detection and response, network security, digital forensics, and more. At the graduate level, students in the online master's in cybersecurity management program also study ethical hacking alongside topics such as wireless, mobile, and cloud security. The master's degree in information technology also offers a cybersecurity concentration.

Pursue Your Passion at Purdue Global

Are you considering a future in cybersecurity? At Purdue Global, you can further your education in one of our online degree or certificate programs. Reach out today for more information.

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