How to Become An Professional Ethical Hacker

Hello Friends, Today I am going to tell you about how to become an ethical hacker. So let's get started.

Hacking is the art of exploitation and social engineering. If you are good enough in an exploit and social engineering than you are a good hacker. 

Nowadays 70% of hacking is done by social engineering. Ethical hackers are mostly penetration tester their work is to enter a system by taking written permission of the owner and perform penetration testing on the network to find vulnerabilities, ethical hackers always work to improve the security of the network. 

So it would be difficult to get hacked by black hats. Ethical Hackers are trained professionals they mainly use Kali Linux to search loopholes in the system. Kali Linux is the operating system that contains a lot of hacking tools they use these tools to find threats and improve the security of a system. 

Some of the hackers with bad intentions do bad use of these tools to enter the system illegally and steal some critical information for their benefits these types of creatures come in black hats category. After stealing information they can ask for big money or use the information in the wrong way.  

There are approximately 10 types of hackers but this post is about how to become an ethical hacker so we will talk only about ethical hackers in this post. According to me, Certified Ethical Hackers are the best hackers than those 10 types of hackers.

How To Become An Ethical Hacker?

First, let me tell you, friends, that no special degree or qualifications from universities required to become an Ethical Hacker.

I mean degree is not necessary to become an ethical hacker. Just the thing is that you must have all the experience, information, and skills to become Ethical Hacker. So I just divided Ethical Hacking into points to make you understand easily what steps should be taken to become a Hacker.

Use Kali Linux

Kali Linux is a Linux based operating system. This is very necessary to have on your laptop or computer. Kali Linux is an operating system only used for hacking and securing networks. Kali Linux has a large amount of built hacking tools in it. First of all friends, you need to master all those tools which are in Kali Linux.

You must have knowledge of all commands that are used in Linux Terminal. Practice daily on Kali Linux to sharp your skills. You can download Virtual Box in Kali Linux from Virtual Box you can test your hacking skills on your own virtual machine. So Download Kali Linux today itself if you want to be a successful ethical hacker. 

The practice is a must. You must practice daily to sharpen your skills.

Rather then Kali Linux You must have information of more than 1 Operating System. Windows is also the most important. You must also know all about windows Os. But run only Kali Linux for hacking. I am giving a list of some Kali Linux tools below that you must master if you want to become a hacker.

Kali Linux best tools used for hacking and penetration testing are listed below:

A. John the Ripper: Jhon The Ripper is an open-source tool for cracking passwords. It was originally developed for Unix, but is now available on all Unix-like platforms, including Linux. The program is also known as JTR or Jhon. It is most often used to enumerate passwords in a dictionary.

The program takes the text string from the file, encrypts it in the same way as the password was encrypted, and then compares the encrypted password and the received string. If the lines match, you get a password; if not, the program takes another line from a text file (dictionary). It can be seen as an offline password cracker.

B. Aircrack-ng: This is a set of programs for hacking and testing the security of wifi networks. Aircrack-ng utilities allow you to crack WEP keys, monitor traffic, enumerate WPA-PSK keys, and capture Wifi connection setup keys. The Aircrack-ng utilities are the most commonly used Kali Linux 2.0 tools.

Utilities allow you to carry out FMS attacks, with some optimizations, for example, Korek or PTW, which makes them more powerful. You can crack WEP in a few minutes or try to iterate over the key to WPA.

C. THC Hydra: THC Hydra is a brute force authentication cracking software. The program allows you to perform dictionary search attacks on more than 50 protocols, including Telnet, FTP, HTTP, HTTPS, SMB, SSH, VNC, databases, and many others. Essentially, it’s a simple and fast Kali Linux hacking tool.

If Jhon The Ripper is considered an offline password cracker, then Hydra is a similar tool that only works online.

D. Burpsuite: Burp Suite is a tool for searching for vulnerabilities on Internet sites and in web applications, which can work both over HTTP and over HTTPS. It is used by many experts to find bugs and test web applications for penetration. The program allows you to combine manual methods with your automation tools to perform testing as efficiently as possible. Burp Suite is written in Java and distributed in the Jar format.

E. WireShark: Wireshark is a very popular open-source network packet analyzer. It can be used to troubleshoot network problems, analyze applications and communication protocols, and develop programs.

The program allows you to see which packets pass through the network interface in real-time, providing information in a convenient form for perception. For an exact search, you can use a powerful filter system. This is one of the most important tools for security professionals.

F. OWASP ZED: This is a very effective tool for testing web applications for both beginners and professionals. The program allows you to find vulnerabilities in web applications, there are automated scanners, as well as various tools that allow you to perform all the work manually. This program will be very useful not only for security professionals but also for application developers.

G. Maltego: Maltego is not a tool for hacking, but for analytics. It allows you to find connections between different subjects and objects. You can search based on open sources, combine data for analysis, and automatically build dependencies between them.

The program can establish possible dependencies between people, sites, domains, companies, IP addresses, factors, and files. All of this can be visualized.

H. Metasploit: Metasploit is a very popular platform for testing system security and hacking. We can say that this is a collection of exploits and tools that can be used to exploit various vulnerabilities. The program was released in 2004 and immediately gained immense popularity.

It is the most powerful platform for developing, testing, and using exploit code. It contains tools that allow you to combine the work of various components.

I. Acunetix: This is a very powerful tool for scanning websites for vulnerabilities. Most sites on the Internet are vulnerable and we need to work hard to make our sites more secure. Acunetix Scanner allows you to check all pages on the site and detect possible SQL injections, XSS, XXE, SSRF, header attack, and other 3000 known vulnerabilities.

J: Nmap: Nmap or Network Mapper is an open-source Kali Linux utility that can be used to audit network security and port scans. Many administrators use Nmap to view devices connected to the local network, check open ports, or monitor server uptime.

Using Nmap, any user can determine if their local programs are accessible from the network. Also, this program was shown in almost all films about hackers.

K. Cain and Able: Cain and Abel or just Cain is a very popular password cracking tool. It was originally intended to recover a Microsoft Windows password, but it can be used for other purposes. With this program, you can recover various types of passwords.

To obtain passwords, you can use packet interception, hash search, dictionary attacks, analysis of rainbow tables, and cryptanalysis attacks.

L. Nikto: This is another classic tool for scanning servers for vulnerabilities. The program searches the database of more than 6,000 potentially dangerous files, it can also detect outdated versions of network software for more than 1300 different programs, and you can also check server configuration files. Therefore, these Kali Linux programs will be very useful in penetration testing.

M. Social engineering toolkit: Social-Engineer Toolkit is a tool that allows you to perform various social engineering attacks. This Python program allows you to perform various social attacks, automate attacks, generate email messages, mask malicious web pages, and much more. Without this program, our list of the best kali Linux utilities would be incomplete.

These are just a few popular tools of Kali Linux you must learn more in order to become a good hacker.

Programming and Scripting Languages.

To become an Ethical Hacker Knowledge of programming language is a must. An ethical hacker must have knowledge of more than 2 programming languages. Below is the list of languages you must learn.

•  Python (extremely  Recommended)
• C++
• JavaScript, JQuery
• SQL( Highly Recommended)

A. Python: This is perhaps the best language for web development. Two large frameworks are written on it, on which a huge number of web applications are created, these are Flask and Django. The language is well built and documented. Most importantly, it is very easy to learn. By the way, many developers use Python to create simple and complete automation.

B. C++:  A language used in industrial programming. He is taught in schools, universities. Servers are written on it. I recommend starting the study of languages ​​with it because it contains all the principles of OOP. By learning to work with it, you can easily learn other languages.

C. JavaScript, jQuery: Basically, almost all sites use JS and jQuery. You need to know that on these sites it depends on JS, for example, a form for entering passwords. 

After all, some sites do not allow you to select and copy some information, do not allow you to download a file or view the contents, however, to do this, it is enough to disable JS in the browser. 

Well, to disable JavaScript, you need to know: a) in what situations they work (protection) of the site depends on it; b) how JavaScript is connected and in what ways it is possible to block the operation of scripts.

D. SQL: Most interesting. All passwords, personal data, are stored in databases written in SQL. The most common database management system is MySQL. 

To understand how to use MySQL injection, you need to know what MySQL injection is. To understand the essence of MySQL injection, you need to know what MySQL queries are, what the syntax of these queries is, what the database device is, how data is stored, what tables are, etc.

So above are some programming language you must learn in order to become a hacker. Programming language plays a very important role in a hacker's life.

So Friends don't be panic after seeing these many languages. You just need to learn basic of these languages. So if you see any code you must know what is going on in the code or what is written in the code. But you must learn Python in deep because. If you want to be a good hacker you must be good at python.

Explore Network Devices

You must have a clear understanding of network devices and how they work if you want to become a hacker. It is important to understand how networks are created, to understand the difference between TCP / IP and UDP, and so on. Find out which network you are using. Learn to tune it. Find out possible attack vectors.

With a deep knowledge of various networks, you can exploit their vulnerabilities. You also need to understand the design and operation of the web server and website.

Learn Social Engineering

Almost every type of hacking starts with social engineering. So you must be thinking what is social engineering now? Social engineering is nothing but it is an art of exploitation of the human mind.

Once you achieve mastery in Social Engineering it means you know how to exploit and trick humans into hacking.

Without social engineering, hacking is nearly impossible. Let me tell you. You cannot hack a server if it is properly configured and it is up to date. If you want to hack you need to trick a person who manages the server into social engineering by exploiting his/her mind. This type of hacking comes in black hat hacking so avoid these types of hacking.

Even you become a master in hacking don't hack until you have written permission to perform penetration testing on the network or on the server. 

If you break the rules of white hat hacking then you may put yourself in trouble.

If you want to know more about social engineering you can check our article by clicking below:

Social Engineering: Everything you need to know.

Learn Cryptography

This is an integral part of learning. You need to understand the algorithms of various ciphers, for example, SHA-512, the OpenSSL algorithm, and so on. You also need to deal with hashing. Cryptography is used everywhere: passwords, bank cards, cryptocurrencies, trading floors, etc.

Join Best Ethical Hacking Institution

Join any best ethical hacking institution available in your city. There you will learn more about hacking. 

For learning and sharping your hacking skills Ethical Hacking institutions are best for sharping skills in hacking. Because if you go to any institute their you will get information about the latest threats and vulnerabilities and also you will get your daily practice in an institution that will make your mind sharp. 

I understand if someone cannot afford an institution. For them, they can join Facebook Ethical Hacking groups. Join as many groups you can there you will meet the best ethical hackers they provide their knowledge to you and free of cost.

And also make your attitude like a hacker so you will be able to think like a hacker.

How much time needs to become an Ethical Hacker?

Friends after getting knowledge of full Kali Linux and Windows OS. and learning basics of all programming languages. You will need approx 1 year to become a successful Ethical Hacker. Even after becoming an Ethical Hacker Never Stop Practicing your skills. Try new things never stop yourself in one place. Keep moving in the world of technology.

Even after becoming a hacker keep practicing your skills on new technology. Always be curious and try to discover more things.

What Is Carrier In Ethical Hacking?

After Becoming an Ethical Hacker there will be a lot of opportunities for jobs available for you because Ethical Hackers are very less and jobs for them are more. You also can apply for the Offensive Security Certified Professional. 

It is the most well recognized and respected certification for info security professionals and ethical hackers. After completing Offensive security certified professional any company in this world will hire you for an ethical hackers job. After being a successful hacker never use your skill to hack an innocent always use your skill in a good manner and performing hacking only when you have written permission of the owner of the system in which you want to perform penetration testing.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQS)

Q. What are the three types of hackers?

A. There are mainly three types of hackers:

• White hat hacker
• Black hat hacker
• Grey hat hacker

White hat hacker: These are good hackers and only do legal hacking with written permission. These hackers are mostly employed in many multinational companies. The main role of these hackers is to secure the system and to prevent the system from getting hacked.

Black hat hacker: This type of hackers mostly do illegal hacking such as hacking credit cards, bank account, leak personal information of the person. The main aim of these hackers is to make money by doing illegal hacking.

Gry hat hacker: We can say that this category of hackers come in between white hat and black hat. Grey hat hacker does hacking just for fun. They don't want money or anything from a person they just do both legal and illegal hacking.

Q. Why do hackers hack?

A. As I mentioned above the types of the hacker. Some hackers hack to secure their systems and servers. 

Some hackers hack to do illegal activities and earn money by doing illegal things like hacking bank accounts and cards.

And some hacker hack just for fun. And this fun makes them in trouble sometimes.

Q. What code do hackers use?

A. Hackers have basic knowledge of many programming languages. Some hacker have advanced knowledge also. But the main programming language for hackers is Python. So Python is best for hackers.

Q. What techniques do hackers use?

A. Some famous techniques that are used for hackers are:

• Denial of service (DOS) attack;
• Clickjacking attack;
• Social Engineering;
• Eavesdropping;
• Fake WAP;
• Keylogger;
• Reverse Engineering;
• Sniffing and spoofing;
• Post exploitation;
• Forensics;
• Wireless attacks;
• Password attacks.
• SQL injection.

So these are some famous techniques used by hackers.

Q. Why do hackers use Kali Linux?

A. There are many benefits of using Kali Linux. Many tools that are used for hacking come preinstalled in Kali Linux. 

Kali Linux is one of the best-operating systems used for hacking and penetration testing.

You can also say that Linux is virus-free.

Kali Linux is mainly made for ethical hackers.

Conclusion:

Becoming a hacker is not an easy task. If you want to become a hacker then you must learn to hack with full dedication it may take several years to become a master in hacking.

You must read this article and apply it in your daily life in order to become a hacker. If you thinking where to start the first step is to install Kali Linux. 

And if you are confused about how to test your hacking skills after learning hacking techniques. So let me tell you there are some websites available on the internet that will help you to perform hacking on their website. You just need to sign up on those websites and start practicing your hacking skills. This is only a legal way to practice. 

Read the below article that I have provided. In the below article I have given some website links on which you can test your hacking skills legally.

Read Article: Top 10 websites to test your hacking skills legally.

So, friends, that's it if this post is helpful to you comment below.

This article is updated on 22 April 2020.