You hear the term hackers, and the first thing that pops into mind is someone attempting to steal your information or business data with malicious intent. However, many would be surprised to know that the term was used for experts who utilize their skills for the renewal of mainframe systems and boost their efficiency. Nowadays, hackers mean skilled programmers who can infiltrate computer systems by using bugs and exploiting weaknesses with or without the intention of stealing valuable information. One can consider enrolling in courses to Learn about hacking and ethical hacking practices to enhance skills responsibly, and even expand on potential career opportunities and cybersecurity awareness.
Hacking is not always malicious. There is a concept of ethical hacking as well. What is it? Continue reading to know more:
Ethical Hacking
An authorized procedure of going around system security to detect potential threats and data breaches in a network is called ethical hacking. The company itself permits cybersecurity experts to test and check vulnerabilities in the system and know whether the company is equipped against data theft attacks. Ethical hacking is a planned and legal activity to develop solutions that can help prevent data breaches. An ethical hacker’s job is to investigate the network and spot weak points that malicious hackers could exploit.
If there are any loopholes, they collect and analyze the information and find ways to boost the system’s security. This way, the overall security is improved that can resist and divert attacks. Companies also use other methods to ensure the prevention of data leaks, like using Xnspy that monitors all correspondence that happens between employees. One can go through a comprehensive XnSpy review to know all that it has to offer.
When it comes to ethical hacking, there are a few protocols that are as follows:
- They work within legal limits. They must get approval from the organization before they access and perform a security assessment on the system or network.
- The scope of the assessment is defined so that an ethical hacker’s work remains within the legal and approved boundaries of the business.
- Ethical hackers inform the organization of the vulnerabilities uncovered during the assessment and provide the necessary course of action to resolve them.
- Ethical hackers are required to keep the discoveries confidential. Since their goal is to improve the security posture of an organization, they must agree to a non-disclosure agreement along with other terms and conditions put forward by the organization.
- After the system has been thoroughly checked by the company, all the traces of the hack have to be erased. This is to block malicious hackers from harming the system via identified security vulnerabilities.
Learning the Difference between Ethical Hackers & Malicious Hackers
Ethical hackers use their expertise and skills so that organizations can better their security by pointing out vulnerabilities that malicious hackers can exploit. Ethical hackers identify the weaknesses of the company’s security system and find effective ways to strengthen it.
Usually, hacking/spying has a negative connotation attached to it. Even though, quite often, it is more than a method to monitor. Take employee monitoring, for example. As said above, employers use Xnspy employee monitoring app to not only measure performance but keep an eye on employee activities to timely detect and stop the illegal or unethical activity. Employers install this app on company-owned phones to know if any employee is engaged in suspicious or unethical activity such as leaking information or stealing data.
Employers are allowed to monitor employees. Companies make it a point to disclose their monitoring policies and practices at the time of hiring or during orientation when new employees are recruited. Many businesses have benefitted tremendously from it. Any authentic XnSpy review can vouch for that. Checking out reliable websites and going through a couple of Xnspy reviews would tell you what this app is capable of.
White Hat and Black Hat Hacking
What ethical hackers do is called ‘White Hat’ hacking. Ethical hackers are also called White Hat Hackers. Black Hat hacking is illegal, carried out with malicious intent, and involves security violations. Black Hat hacking involves harassment, profit, and it’s mostly driven by personal gains. White Hat hackers, on the other hand, attempt to find loopholes and weaknesses. They come up with the best solutions to prevent Black Hat hackers from infiltrating the system’s security.
Some other ways to differentiate between these two types of hackers are:
- For starters, ownership. Organizations employ white hackers themselves to get into their security systems and check for any weaknesses. Black hat hackers do not work for someone.
- Secondly, ethical hackers mimic the techniques which malicious hackers use to find out where the security system is lacking. They imitate all the steps a black hat hacker took or might take to identify how a system breach happened or may happen. The moment a weak point is found, they rectify it.
- Even though the techniques used are the same as Black Hat hacking, ethical hacking is legally acceptable as it is done by consent. Black hat hackers break the law and do it for their gains.
In present times, data safety has become inevitable. Make sure you are not too late to jump on the bandwagon and invest in expert ethical hacking for your business’s safety.
