How To Become An Ethical Hacker?| What Is an Ethical Hacker (CEH) ?| Courses To Do, Qualifications, Earning.|

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      How To Become An Ethical Hacker ?

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What is an Ethical Hacker ?

Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) is a qualification obtained by demonstrating knowledge of assessing the security of computer systems by looking for weaknesses and vulnerabilities in target systems, using the same knowledge and tools as a malicious hacker, but in a lawful and legitimate manner to assess the security posture of a target system. 

How Can You Become An Ethical Hacker ?

The basic guidelines to become a successful Ethical Hacker. If you want to excel in this field, then you might choose to pursue the following courses and certifications −

1️⃣Obtain a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or A+ Certificate to gain an understanding of the most common hardware and software technologies.

2️⃣Get into a programmer’s role for a few years and then switch to get a tech support position.

3️⃣Proceed to get network certifications like Network+ or CCNA and then security certifications like Security+, CISSP, or TICSA.

4️⃣It is recommended that you get some work experience as a Network Engineer and System Administrator to understand networks and systems inside out.

5️⃣Keep going through various books, tutorials and papers to understand various computer security aspects and take them as a challenge to secure your network and computer systems as network security engineer.

6️⃣Study courses which cover creating Trojan horses, backdoors, viruses, and worms, denial of service (DoS) attacks, SQL injection, buffer overflow, session hijacking, and system hacking.

7️⃣Master the art of penetration testing, footprinting and reconnaissance, and social engineering.

8️⃣Finally go for a Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) Certification.

9️⃣GIAC (Global Information Assurance Certification) and Offensive Security Certified Professional (OSCP) are additional IT security certifications which will add a lot of value to your profile.

Ethical Hacking Phases

1️⃣Reconnaissance

Reconnaissance is the phase where the attacker gathers information about a target using active or passive means. The tools that are widely used in this process are NMAP, Hping, Maltego, and Google Dorks.

2️⃣Scanning

In this process, the attacker begins to actively probe a target machine or network for vulnerabilities that can be exploited. The tools used in this process are Nessus, Nexpose, and NMAP.

3️⃣Gaining Access

In this process, the vulnerability is located and you attempt to exploit it in order to enter into the system. The primary tool that is used in this process is Metasploit.

4️⃣Maintaining Access

It is the process where the hacker has already gained access into a system. After gaining access, the hacker installs some backdoors in order to enter into the system when he needs access in this owned system in future. Metasploit is the preferred tool in this process.

5️⃣Clearing Tracks

This process is actually an unethical activity. It has to do with the deletion of logs of all the activities that take place during the hacking process.

6️⃣Reporting

Reporting is the last step of finishing the ethical hacking process. Here the Ethical Hacker compiles a report with his findings and the job that was done such as the tools used, the success rate, vulnerabilities found, and the exploit processes.

Quick Tip : 

The processes are not standard. You can adopt a set of different processes and tools according to your techniques that you are comfortable with. The process is of least significance as long as you are able to get the desired results.

How much an Ethical Hacker Earn ? 

I will stay true to you, it's totally upon you how much you want to earn ? What are your qualifications ? What comapy wants from you and what you are capable of doing ? 

After all this Certified Ethical Hacker's average salary, average annual income of $99,000, according to Indeed.com. Salary information is anecdotal as a formal salary survey has yet to emerge. The average starting salary for a certified ethical hacker is $95,000, per annum according to EC-Council senior director Steven Graham.

Final Note

You need to stay as a White Hat Hacker which means you need to work within given boundaries. Never intrude or attack any computer or network without a required permission from the authorities.

As a final note, it is highly recommended that you refrain from engaging yourself in black hat hacking which may spoil your entire career.

Like all good projects, ethical hacking too has a set of distinct phases. It helps hackers to make a structured ethical hacking attack.

Different security training manuals explain the process of ethical hacking in different ways, but for me as a Certified Ethical Hacker, the entire process can be categorized into the following six phases.