How to make your Ethical hacking look amazing in 6 months

Ethical hacking is the common path that the majority of the candidates are taking. If you have an interest in web application security, then ethical hacking is an excellent first step to take.

Data security is the more crucial than ever in today’s world of growing connectivity. Ethical hacking, as the term implies, is all about leveraging your knowledge to strengthen security protocols and defend organisations against potential online dangers. It is a type of security testing that is designed to find loopholes in computer systems, aid businesses in strengthening their security, and stop data breaches.

In this article, we will learn how someone can brush up on their skills in 6 months so that they will be better at penetration testing or bug bounty hunting.

Most common certification to start their journey as ethical hackers, i.e., CEH v11 (Certified Ethical Hacker Certification) and majorly certification are provided by offensive security. Most of the top companies in India consider the CEH certification, so it’s highly recommended by security experts to get started with the certification. After gaining more experience, you can consider OSCP certification.

Candidates are taking an interest in web application penetration testing or bug bounty hunting after completing their ethical hacking course. Furthermore, these are the best cyber security subdomains to begin their journey. So to master ethical hacking, we need to have a basic understanding of all the concepts used in penetration testing.

First, lets see what are the certifications are available for ethical hacker as beginner or professional level. After that we will see what are topics you need to master for ehtical hacking.

Certifications for Ethical hacking:

There aren’t always levels in the Offensive Security certification process. As long as you finish the necessary course before taking any of the certification exams, you are free to take each one separately. Having said that, the OSCP could be thought of as the “entry-level” exam and the OSEE as the most difficult.

Now, let’s look at the fundamentals skills and knowledge needed to become the best ethical hacker in six months. The following are some essential steps you must perform:

Research and Resources:

When it comes to research and the resources needed to become acquainted with all of the terms used in the ethical hacking learning journey, interest is your best friend. If you don’t want to spend time learning new things, it’s difficult to get started in any field.

If you want to find out about good resources for ethical hacking, read articles from Medium, Quora, and other cyber security blogs. Most experienced white hat hackers write articles describing common vulnerabilities and recommend books that will teach you specific topics in depth.

Linux and Windows Fundamentals:

Linux is a very essential skills to master before entering ethical hacking. To master the linux fundamentals, you must be familiar with the environment, have a good command of the linux directory structure, basic linux terminal commands, the ability to manage files and folders permissions, manage linux users and groups, and the ability to manage and monitor linux services and processes.

Candidates can master Linux fundamentals by taking free courses of linux fundamentals. There are numerous free linux fundamentals courses available on Udemy, Youtube, Coursera, and other sites.

Windows basics are also important to master because most organisations rely on the Windows operating system on a daily basis. So to master the basics of Windows fundamentals, you need to learn about groups and policies, active directory, the basics of PowerShell, Windows services, and vulnerabilities.

Web Application basics:

Web applications have lots of features to learn; to understand the basics of web applications, which include URL comprehension, how HTTP request and response work, the roles of client and server, catching services and cookies, web app technology, and web app vulnerabilities.

Various programming languages are used to create a simple web application or website. A web application consists of two functionalities, i.e., server-side functionality and client-side functionality.

Client-side functionality consists of several programming languages such as HTML, hyperlinks, forms, CSS, Javascript, VBscript, DOM, Ajax, JSON, same-origin policy, HTML5, Web 2.0, state and sessions.

Server-side functionality consists of several scripting languages (PHP, Vbscript, and Perl), web application platforms (ASP.net and Java), web servers (Apache, IIS, and Netscape Enterprise), databases (Ms-SQL, Oracle, and My-SQL), and other back-end elements, including filesystems, SOAP-based web services, and directory services.

Basics of Client and Server:

As we have mentioned above, what are the functionalities of client-side and server-side application? You might learn which languages are used on both side of functionalities.

You also need to learn and understand what client and server are, what types of servers are used, how passwords are stored in servers, how client and server works, how they interact with each other.

Basics of Networking:

The concept of networking is critical in the journey of ethical hacking. Candidates who ignore this part are not able to understand the basics of web application penetration testing. Most of the tools and reconnaissance concepts are linked with networking concepts.

Security experts recommend that you understand networking concepts such as protocol services and port numbers, TCP 3-way handshake, TCP headers and UDP headers, Secure Socket layer (SSL), OSI layers, network topologies, the TCP/IP protocol, subnetting, tunneling, network service vulnerabilities, and so on.

Ethical hacking tools:

Tools are most important part of ethical hacking to do reconnaissance or find vulnerabilities in computer systems, web applications, and networks. These tools will help to do active and passive reconnaissance as per your requirements.

There are lots of several open-source and commercial tools available in the market that are widely used to prevent unauthorized access to a computer system.

Most of the highly used tools are listed below:

Practice each and every tool one-by-one and try to master them all. There are also lots of other tools are available. Each tools is used for a particular purpose, like subdomain enumeration; tools such as subfinder, assetfinder, httpx, sublist3r, amass, etc.

Programming skills:

An in-depth knowledge of how computer systems operate and how to take advantage of weaknesses is necessary for ethical hacking. Finding and exploiting these vulnerabilities would be impossible without solid programming skills.

Candidates should have a basic understanding of programming languages and be able to read and identify errors in source code while performing source code analysis. You don’t have to master each and every programming languages; just master any of the programming languages.

Python is a popular programming language; most tools are written in either Python or Go. Python is also a scripting language. When you become experienced in ethical hacking or web application penetration testing, you have to build your own tools because you cannot rely on other’s.

Practice, and lots of Practice:

Practice will help you sharpen your skills; without practice, no one can become an ethical hacker. Most of the candidates are now unsure where they can practice, even though there are numerous online options. The following online reaources are highly recommended online for practising linux, networking, windows enumeration, web application hacking concepts, and so on:

OverTheWire will help you practise linux commands, bWAPP is being developed to practise all the web application vulnerabilities, the PicoCTF website provides capture the flag challenges, and Vulnhub has lots of options like CTF, “boot to root” types of machines, and many more.

Conclusion:

The discipline of ethical hacking is demanding and profitable, and experts in it can contribute to global safety. To enrol in an ethical hacking institutes and learn how to become an ethical hacker, you must possess excellent technical abilities and a thorough knowledge of computer networks and systems. If you have the necessary knowledge and expertise, you should have no trouble getting employment as the job prospects for ethical hackers is favourable.

While ethical hackers play a crucial role in the modern digital world, it’s important to keep in mind that they are not impenetrable. Just spend time mastering each and every topic mentioned above and keep your concepts clear.

Keep learning and start exploring.