What Skills Are Required To Be An Ethical Hacker?

White hat hackers that breach a computer infrastructure to test target systems and expose flaws are known as ethical hackers. Cybersecurity specialists are employed by businesses and government agencies to discover possible risks and weak connections in the network, as well as to prevent cyberattacks. Penetration tests are performed on your IT infrastructure by an ethical hacker to uncover internal and external dangers. In this post we will be providing some insights on the skills required to become an Ethical Hacker.

Recommended Read : Why Become A Cyber Security Specialist?

What You Will Find

Skill Required To Become an Ethical Hacker

Many individuals look for “how to become an ethical hacker?” on the internet. However, before you jump in, you need be informed of the talents needed to succeed in this sector. Ethical hacking entails a wide range of abilities. To become a hacker and pursue a profession in cybersecurity, one must first uphold strong ethical standards. This is what sets ethical hackers also known as white hat hackers apart from black hats and malevolent hackers.

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The following are some of the most crucial talents to have if you want to work in this field:

1. Know Your Operating System

An operating system (OS) is a software that handles all of the other application programs in a computer after being loaded into it by a boot program. Windows is one the most popular and easy to use example of an operating system. But to become an certified and competent ethical hacker you must gain knowledge of other operating systems as well. A ethical hacking enthusiast should be well-versed in the Linux operating system. Linux is used by a large number of web servers. To check for cyber breaches and defects, one needs to be familiar with operating systems such as Linux, Ubuntu, Red Hat, and others. Furthermore, Linux has a variety of distributions that are made by the developers around the world to fulfill the specific requirements. For example Linux distribution such as Kali comes with pre-installed which are specifically included to help in hacking. So any ethical hacker must be familiar with Linux if they want to succeed in becoming an ethical hacker.

2. Knowledge About Computer and Network Architecture

Ethical Hacking is all about computer and networks they use. So the second most crucial skill required to become an ethical hacker is a deep and thorough understanding of computers and networks. You should be familiar with basic computer architecture and networking principles such as process injection, thread killing, process killing, and so on. You should also know how to use networking commands such the OSI model, IP addresses, MAC addresses, subnetting, and routing to allow ethical hacking. If a network is vulnerable then the whole system is at a risk so if you want to be able to identify and rectify the threats, you must have a very good understanding of the networking fundamentals.

3. Programming and Coding Concept

Another important skill required to be an ethical hacker is coding or the concept of programming language. Programmers and Developers are humans too and we humans are prone to making errors. For software and website creation, a variety of programming languages are utilized. If you have knowledge and concept of coding you could review the code and find a bug that could be exploited to make the system perform an unauthorized act. Not only that coding also help you develops a mindset of problem solving and critical thinking which are a valuable skill for an ethical hacker. Some of the recommended programming language to look at are python, Bash, Web Development suite i.e. HTML/CSS/JS/PHP. It is important to understand that if you are familiar with one programming language chances are that you will be able to understand the workflow of any other programming language.

4. System Security Basics and Fundamentals

Basic Understanding of the security systems that are used nowadays is one of the vital skill for becoming an ethical hacker. Whether you’re a novice or a seasoned pro, you’ll need to study or understand the fundamentals, such as antivirus, app protection, device protection, database management systems, and password management. Gaining such insights can be a great assets for an ethical hacker which provide assistance in ethical hacking.

5. Understanding of Cryptography

The study of secure communications systems that allow only the sender and intended recipient of a message to read its contents is known as cryptography. It’s closely linked to encryption, which is the process of scrambling plain text to make it unreadable maintaining the confidentiality into ciphertext and then back to original form when it’s received. A skill or knowledge every ethical hacker must posses is the concept of Cryptography and it’s methodology.

To know more : Cryptography

6. Tools and Methodologies

You may have all the skill required for becoming an ethical hacker but if your process and knowledge of the tools are not as sound as your other skills than it won’t be a surprise if you are not considered to be a competent ethical hacker. “A Professional in any field is only as good as the way they handle their tools” . Therefore in order to become an ethical hacker one must have a good understanding of the testing methodology and how to use a tool efficiently. Any ethical hacker must have a good knowledge of what they should be looking for while they are testing for vulnerabilities. OWASP Top 10 provided a detailed information about the most serious security threats to online applications. The OWASP Top 10 is a standard awareness document for web application security and developers. It reflects widespread agreement on the most serious security threats to online applications. Professionals all across the world acknowledge it as the first step toward better secure code and as an ethical hacker you must at least be able to identify the threats mentioned by OWASP.

What are the Skills Required to Become an Ethical Hacker