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.