A Comprehensive Guide to Ethical Hacking

It would not be wrong to say that many people still believe that hacking is in itself an unethical concept as it involves breaching the security that has been put in place by others to protect their information from any unauthorized access. Therefore, when someone stumbles upon a title like ethical hacking, it makes him wonder why one would describe hacking as ethical let alone making it as one of the wisest career choices for many.

In the initial stages of its development, hacking really was only a means of accessing information that was closed for the rest of the world. However, it will come as a surprise for you, but most of the major computer and IT companies such as IBM, Microsoft and Apple have a large dedicated team of hackers, proficient in ethical hacking procedures. They aren’t, however, doing anything illegal. The job description of an ethical hacking professional usually involves testing all the firewalls that these companies are developing, and protect their precious data from hackers. Once they test drive these security programs, the designers can fill in whatever gap that was left behind which can enable unethical hackers to get through the firewall. In simpler terms, ethical hacking experts protect your data from unethical hacking threats.

If you have made up your mind for learning ethical hacking, you should know some basics about this job. Ethical hacking experts normally try to hack in all the ways they possibly can and then send back a list of vulnerabilities to the original program developers. Sometimes these hackers are also expected to evaluate and compare different programs. This entire process helps in making the programs that are fool-proof and completely hacker resistant.

This is one of the most important benefits of learning ethical hacking. Precisely due to this reason ethical hacking has become a popular course taught all over the world as the demand for efficient and skilled ethical hackers is all-time high. This rise in demand can be attributed to the increased dependence that companies have on computers and IT infrastructure. Due to the usage of computers and internet for almost every procedure in today’s businesses they have become extremely vulnerable to possible hacker threats that companies cannot afford.

Learning ethical hacking skills can help you build a promising career as in-house hackers in many multinationals. This will help them save billions and enable them to maintain their reputation in the market. Meanwhile, the buyers of hack-proof products will be protected from being duped for buying tampered software programs. Excellent in-house team of ethical hackers helps in increasing overall efficiency by developing fool-proof programs for any organization.

What Ethical Hacking Is - Hacking Course CEH v8

If you have ever wondered what Ethical Hacking is, you have come to the right place. The Ethical Hacker Certification, also called the Certified Ethical Hacker (or C|EH), is the certification that is designed to get the security professional up to snuff in their abilities to uncover security flaws both from within and outside their companies networks. This means that the Ethical Hacker Certification is there to help people in their venture to become an ethical hacker. An Ethical Hacker is commonly referred to as a White Hat Hacker in the underground. These hackers utilize the same tools the unethical, or Black Hat, hackers use, but they use them to help their company to fix the vulnerabilities. That means that when a criminal hacker is using their skills for their own gain, the ethical hacker is using theirs to help organizations become more secure.

The latest version of the Ethical Hacker Certification is C|EH Version 8. This version was made publicly available on 8th May 2013 by the International Council of E-Commerce Consultants.

When you take the exam it is geared to help students evaluate their knowledge of security in general. It also focuses on ethical hacking, focusing particularly on a range of topics that are across seven knowledge areas and six task areas. What the certification is supposed to do is test the students knowledge of both the tactical methods and tools, as well as the overall systems and security knowledge that is the base of their ethical hacking skill set.

The seven knowledge areas are as follows:

• Background - Web technologies, Protocols, Networking technologies, and more.
• Analysis/Assessment - Risk assessment, Systems analysis, Data analysis, and more.
• Security - knowledge of a range of policies, technologies and security domains.
• Tools/Programs/Systems - knowledge in operating systems, applications, methodologies and tools.
• Methodology/Procedures - Service Oriented Architecture, N-tier application design, cryptography, Security architecture, and more.
• Policy/Regulation - Compliance regulations, Security policies, and more.
• Ethics - The appropriateness of hacking, Professional code of conduct, and more.

The six task areas are as follows:

• System Management and Development
• System Audits and Analysis
• Security Testing of Vulnerabilities
• Reporting
• Mitigation
• Ethics

To be eligible to take the Ethical Hacker Certification you should have taken one of the C|EH training courses at a registered training facility, though it is not a requirement to take the exam. Students that wish to not partake in the training sessions are required to show proof of at least two years experience in the field of computer security. This is to be done by submitting the eligibility application form along with the application fee. For those students who have taken the training course the exam can then be taken through a web based examination system. If you training course does not include the cost of the examination, there may be an additional charge for the examination. Students who pursue a self study methodology will have to pay the application fee as well as the examination fee to take the examination. Typically the examination will have one hundred and twenty five multiple choice questions to be answered. You are given a four hour time frame to complete the exam. To earn a passing grade and become a Certified Ethical Hacker you must achieve a minimum of seventy percent on your exam.

Hacker Organisation Stole $45 Million From ATMs

Unlimited Operation, this is the presumed name of the technique the cyber-crime organisation responsible for the theft of an astonishing $45 millions used to withdraw money from ATMs all across the globe.

The heist was done in two precisely coordinated  operations that involved gang members in more than two dozen countries acting with impressive precision. In the place of guns and masks, this cyber-crime organization used laptops and the Internet. This massive 21st century bank heist that reached across the Internet and stretched around the globe raising concerns about the security of financial institutions.

Unlimited operation included honed computer security specialists operating in the shadowy world of Internet hacking, manipulating financial information and breaking the tight security protocols of major financial institutions  Common street criminals were also included, who used
that information to loot the automated teller machines.The first crew to be have been apprehended was a street crew operating in NY, they traveled the city raiding ATMs withdrawing money and stuffing backpacks with cash, $2.8 millions in total.

Besides the large amount of money involved, the thefts underscored the security vulnerability of financial institutions around the world to hackers working to stay a step ahead of the latest technologies designed to thwart them. To start, hackers broke into the system of a credit-card processing company that handles Visa and MasterCard prepaid debit cards. The hackers then raised the withdrawal limits on prepaid MasterCard debit accounts. Once the withdrawal limits have been eliminated, they could then withdrawn virtually an unlimited amount of money, which the street crew apparently did across the globe.

The suspects have been charged with conspiracy to commit access device fraud, money laundering conspiracy and money laundering. If found guilty, the defendants each face up to 10 years behind bars for money laundering and another 7.5 years for each of the other three charges.

CEH certification and EC-Council

If asked what is the most popular ethical hacking certification, I'd certainly answer CEH - Certified Ethical Hacker. CEH is certification is given by the EC-Council - The International Council of E-Commerce Consultants (EC-Council) is a member-based organization that certifies individuals in various e-business and information security skills.




It is the owner and creator of the world famous Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH), Computer Hacking Forensics Investigator (CHFI) and EC-Council Certified Security Analyst (ECSA)/License Penetration Tester (LPT) certification, and as well as many others certification schemes, that are offered in over 87 countries globally.

EC-Council mission is to validate information security professionals who are equipped with the
necessary skills and knowledge required in a specialized information security domain that will help
them avert a cyber war, should the need ever arise”. EC-Council is committed to withhold the high-est level of impartiality and objectivity in its practices, decision making and authority in all matters
related to certification.

So if you ever wondered who issued C|E|H certificates, now you know.

Hacking Exposed Web Applications 3

Hacking Exposed is probably the most well know hacking books series around the planet and there is a reason to that. They are just awesome ! For this post I am bringing you Hacking Exposed Web Applications 3.
Web applications 3 is an eBook focusing on Web application security secrets and solutions. Knowledge about web applications is of primal importance to any hacker and most importantly ethical hackers (white hat hackers) because they have to know every threat and every security issue a web application can have in order to secure them and ensure that hackers can not exploit the application. Web applications in 2012 bring Millions of dollars of revenue which make them premium targets of any hacker or organization.

Web Applications 3 describes ways in which an application can be hacked: anything from hacking the server itself to exploiting XML and SQL Injection. Enough talking, get your hands on the ebook !

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Hack Proofing your Identity - Are you secure ?

Most of us are on Facebook and multitudes of other social networks as well as online communities. In doing so, we share personal information to the public and to whoever wants to see it.

I am pretty sure you too have tried to Google your name and it's amazing how much information comes out about you, your connections, what you do and traces of your online presence. Have you ever wondered if your identity on the internet can be at risk ? Well, Hack Proofing you identity in the information age has become crucial and the Ebook I am going to present to you sheds light on the ways one can steal your personal information, bank account information and ways to stay safe from identity theft.

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Book Contents:
Chapter 1,What is Identity Theft?,starts us off with a definition of identity
theft, what it is, how it happens, and shows how identity theft is more prevalent
than you think.

Chapter 2,Protecting Your Hard Drive, guides us through the various steps of
protecting our hard drives through the use of strong passwords, updated anti-virus
software, and proper handling of temporary files.There’s a lot more hiding on your
hard drive than you may be aware of, and identity thieves are everywhere and know
what to look for.

Chapter 3,Keeping Your E-mail Private, shows us how e-mail opens up your computer to the outside world. Discussions of viruses, malicious code, SPAM, and e-mail
fraud are included, as well as tips for protecting your personal information and preventing any potential computer damaging security breaches.

Chapters 4 and 5,Self Defense on the Web and Connecting to the Internet Safely, will
look at what a network is, how your network and the Internet can be used in identity theft, and how to avoid common mistakes that make it easy for a thief to do his
work. As you examine the risks of various types of network and Internet connections, we will demonstrate a few surprisingly simple ways to access other computers.
These demonstrations are intended only for educational purposes—to show you the
kinds of information other computers on your network can see.

Chapter 6 takes on the sensitive topic of Are Your Kids Putting You At Risk?
Unfortunately, children can be at risk on the Internet if they are not properly educated about the dangers of sharing personal information (both their own and that of
their parents). On the flipside, children could be breaking the law without even
knowing it, depending on their interests or proficiency with computers, by down-loading copyrighted material, accessing the Internet with a connection provided by
their parent’s employer, and so on. This chapter stresses the importance of proper
education, and offers some suggestions for monitoring your child’s activities online.

Chapter 7 offers suggestions and possible answers to the question,What to Do If
You Become A Victim?This chapter offers helpful tips on contacting law enforcement,
filing reports, contacting credit bureaus, and rebuilding your finances after becoming
a victim of identity theft.

Finally, Chapter 8,Configuring Your Browser and Firewall, offers some practical step-by-step instructions for setting up your Internet browser and personal firewalls to
further protect your computer from intruders or identity thieves.

Is Ethical Hacking Considered Good ?

Lots of people will be confused to see about the use of ethical hacking. In their eyes, this type of concept does not exist as hacking in itself is automatically known as unethical or illegal. Indeed, hacking is often all about the breaching of barriers which are integrated with the protection and security of those. So to talk regarding important things about such acts is of course quite alien to opportunity seekers (at the least initially.)

Initially hacking really was by pointing out breaking of laws and accessing information that should not normally be accessed by certain categories of people. But life's never as black and white once we may first perceive. As such, it will eventually come as a surprise to a great number of people that several major computer companies like IBM, Microsoft, and Apple all have a large and dedicated team of hackers. Yes, that is correct.

They aren't, however, breaking any laws as much as anybody can tell. No, a lot of these hackers exist for entirely reasons. They are used as security testers for a variety of programs. Basically, whenever a company arises with a program, they'll usually grow it on their team of hackers which will then have a go at it ("hack") to find out the quantity of holes in security this system has.

They are going to see if this program can be exploited in anyway after which it give it back towards the programmers in addition to a directory the vulnerabilities found. This is just one benefit of ethical hacking. The program will then be fixed, or strengthened, and sent back again towards hackers to substantiate whether you will still find any complications with it.

These is demonstration of the pros in performance hacking. Were you aware that you can get courses being told with this subject since the need for hackers has actually increased? As the world becomes more and more reliant on computers, the possible damage which can be the consequence of hacker, or categories of hackers, continues to grow to totally new levels. This is not something large companies are able to disregard.

So, learning how to become a hacker can bring about a very promising career indeed, doing work for among several other major companies. As discussed, there are lots of good reasons for ethical hacking for being executed "in-house" as well as them will help companies potentially save huge amounts of money, and minimize the risk of ruining their hard-earned reputation using customers and peers. It is not exactly the companies who benefit but the folks who buy their programs besides.

A team of a good hackers can be sure that a software program will be as safe as is possible, making the project of any would-be hacker that many times harder, often forcing the crooks to begin mastering easier targets. This makes certain that any programs in wide circulation will rarely be tampered with and help safeguard the privacy and integrity in the computers of people worldwide.