Top popular Ethical Hacking tools to look out for in 2021

Ethical Hacking is a part of the cybersecurity discipline widely followed by major tech-industry to protect their organization from unethical hacking. Automation has left its trademark on every industry out there, and ethical hacking is no different. With the onset of various ethical hacking tools, the industry has been transformed.

So, if you are willing to learn Ethical Hacking, then you need to use some tools to gather information, cracking passwords, and other activities. Here we have compiled a list of the best Ethical Hacking tools with their descriptions and features.

What are Ethical Hacking Tools?

◉ Ethical Hacking Tools can detect vulnerabilities in computer systems, servers, web applications, and networks with the help of computer programs and scripts. 

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

Top Ethical Hacking Tools of 2021

1. Nmap Hacking Tool

◉ Gordon Lyon created an open-source tool called Nmap stands for Network Mapper in the year 1997, mainly used for Network Discovery and Security Auditing.

◉ Nmap is one of the best scanning tools for Ethical Hacking and supports all major OS such as Windows, Linux and, Mac OS. 

Nmap Hacking Tool Feature

◉ Nmap is used for auditing to identify the target host.

◉ Hacking tool Identify new servers.

◉ Query a host for DNS and Subdomain search.

◉ Find Vulnerabilities on a network and Exploit them.

Using Nmap you can:

◉ Audit device security.

◉ Detect open ports on remote hosts.

◉ Network mapping and enumeration.

◉ Find vulnerabilities inside any network.

◉ Launch massive DNS queries against domains and subdomains.

Price: Free

2. Burp Suite Hacking Tool

◉ Burp Suite was developed by Dafydd Stuttard ( Founder of Portswigger ) widely used to perform security testing on web applications.

◉ Burp Suite hacking tools contain numerous powerful features which support both manual and automation testing for efficiency and make it highly configurable to even the most experienced testers.

Burp Suite Hacking Tool Features

◉ HTTP message editor.

◉ Login Sequence Recorder permits the programmed filtering.

◉ Survey weakness information with built-in vulnerability management.

◉ Automate scan and filter.

◉ Effectively give a wide assortment of specialized and consistent reports.

◉ Identifies critical vulnerabilities with 100% accuracy.

◉ Target Analyzer.

◉ Content Discovery.

◉ Task Scheduler.

◉ CSRF PoC Generator.

Price:

1. Community edition – Free.

2. Enterprise edition – starts at $3999/ yr.

3. Professional edition-  starts at $399/use/yr.

3. Netsparker

Netsparker was created by Ferruh Mavituna, Peter Edgeler, and Mark Lane in 2009, is one of the website hacking tools, capable of automatically finding SQL Injection, XSS, and other vulnerabilities.

Features of Netsparker

◉ Proof-Based Scanning Technology helps in vulnerability detection.

◉ Netsparker automatically detects custom 404 error pages, URL rules, etc.

◉ REST API for consistent combination with the SDLC, bug tracking systems, etc.

◉ Completely flexible solution. Scan 1,000 web applications in just 24 hours.

Price: Not provided by the vendor

4. Acunetix

Acunetix was developed by Ferruh Mavituna, founder of Netsparx which is a fully automated Ethical Hacking solution that scans single-page applications, javascript, etc… It can prioritize the risk and audit complex, authenticated web apps through a single, consolidated view.

Features:

◉ Scans for all variants of SQL Injection, XSS, and 4500+ vulnerabilities.

◉ Identifies over 1200 WordPress core, theme, and plugin vulnerabilities.

◉ Fast & Scalable – thousands of pages without interruptions.

◉ Available On-Premises and as a Cloud solution.

◉ Integrates with mainstream WAFs and Issue Trackers to help in the SDLC.

Price: Pricing Model – Free trial for 14 days

5. Metasploit

Metasploit was founded by H. D. Moore which is mainly used for penetration testing

Features:

◉ It is useful for knowing about security vulnerabilities.

◉ Helps in penetration testing.

◉ Helps in IDS signature development.

◉ You can create security testing tools.

Price:

1. Open-source tool – Free download.

2. Metasploit Pro is a commercial product- a Free trial available for 14 days.

6. Aircrack-Ng

Aircrack is one of the trustable Ethical Hacking tools which is mainly used for vulnerable wireless connections.

Features:

◉ It can focus on de-authentication, fake access points, etc.

◉ It supports exporting data to text files.

◉ It can check Wi-Fi cards and driver capabilities.

◉ FMS, PTW attacks are used to crack WEP keys.

◉ Dictionary attacks are used to crack WPA2-PSK.

Price: Free

7. Ettercap

Ettercap is an Ethical Hacking tool that supports cross-platform which is used for network and host analysis. Ettercap can help you in creating plugins. 

Features:

◉ Sniffing of live connections.

◉ Content filtering.

◉ Active and passive dissection of many protocols.

◉ Network and host analysis.

◉ Allows creation of custom plugins using Ettercap’s API

Price: Free.

8. John The Ripper

John the Ripper is developed by the Unix Operating system and this is one of the popular password cracking tools. Most of the Pen testers and Ethical Hackers prefer John to ensure security due to its e ability to auto-detect password hash types.

Features:

◉ John the Ripper is mainly used for testing encrypted passwords.

◉ It performs dictionary attacks.

◉ It provides various password crackers in one package.

◉ It provides a customizable cracker.

Price: Free

9. Wireshark

◉ Gerald Combs, The founder wanted a tool for tracking network problems, so he started writing “Wireshark” (previously known as Ethereal).

This tool helps in analyzing the packets and perform deep inspection of many protocols.

Features:

◉ Wireshark can decompress the gzip files.

◉ Protocols like IPsec, ISAKMP, etc can be decrypted by Wireshark.

◉ It can perform live capture and offline analysis.

◉ Wireshark captures network data using GUI or TTY-mode TShark utility.

Price: Free

10. Angry IP Scanner

This is an open-source and cross-platform Ethical Hacking tool that mainly helps in scanning the IP addresses and ports.

Features:

◉ This is a free and open-source hack tool.

◉ Random or file in any format.

◉ Exports results in many formats.

◉ Extensible with many data fetchers.

◉ Provides command-line interface.

◉ No need for Installation.

Price: Free

Source: mygreatlearning.com

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What is Hacking? Types of Hackers | Introduction to Cybercrime

What is Hacking?

Hacking is the activity of identifying weaknesses in a computer system or a network to exploit the security to gain access to personal data or business data. An example of computer hacking can be: using a password cracking algorithm to gain access to a computer system.

Computers have become mandatory to run a successful businesses. It is not enough to have isolated computers systems; they need to be networked to facilitate communication with external businesses. This exposes them to the outside world and hacking. System hacking means using computers to commit fraudulent acts such as fraud, privacy invasion, stealing corporate/personal data, etc. Cyber crimes cost many organizations millions of dollars every year. Businesses need to protect themselves against such attacks.

In this hacking tutorial, we will learn-

Who is a Hacker?

A Hacker is a person who finds and exploits the weakness in computer systems and/or networks to gain access. Hackers are usually skilled computer programmers with knowledge of computer security.

Types of Hackers

Hackers are classified according to the intent of their actions. The following list classifies types of hackers according to their intent:

Ethical Hacker (White hat): A security hacker who gains access to systems with a view to fix the identified weaknesses. They may also perform penetration Testing and vulnerability assessments.

Cracker (Black hat): A hacker who gains unauthorized access to computer systems for personal gain. The intent is usually to steal corporate data, violate privacy rights, transfer funds from bank accounts etc.

Grey hat: A hacker who is in between ethical and black hat hackers. He/she breaks into computer systems without authority with a view to identify weaknesses and reveal them to the system owner.

Script kiddies: A non-skilled person who gains access to computer systems using already made tools.

Hacktivist: A hacker who use hacking to send social, religious, and political, etc. messages. This is usually done by hijacking websites and leaving the message on the hijacked website.

Phreaker: A hacker who identifies and exploits weaknesses in telephones instead of computers.

Introduction of Cybercrime

Cybercrime is the activity of using computers and networks to perform illegal activities like spreading computer viruses, online bullying, performing unauthorized electronic fund transfers, etc. Most cybercrime hacks are committed through the internet, and some cybercrimes are performed using Mobile phones via SMS and online chatting applications.

Type of Cybercrime

◉ The following list presents the common types of cybercrimes:

◉ Computer Fraud: Intentional deception for personal gain via the use of computer systems.

◉ Privacy violation: Exposing personal information such as email addresses, phone number, account details, etc. on social media, hacking a websites, etc.

◉ Identity Theft: Stealing personal information from somebody and impersonating that person.

◉ Sharing copyrighted files/information: This involves distributing copyright protected files such as eBooks and computer programs etc.

◉ Electronic funds transfer: This involves gaining an un-authorized access to bank computer networks and making illegal fund transfers.

◉ Electronic money laundering: This involves the use of the computer to launder money.

◉ ATM Fraud: This involves intercepting ATM card details such as account number and PIN numbers. These details are then used to withdraw funds from the intercepted accounts.

◉ Denial of Service Attacks: This involves the use of computers in multiple locations to attack servers with a view of shutting them down.

◉ Spam: Sending unauthorized emails. These emails usually contain advertisements.

What is Ethical Hacking?

Ethical Hacking is identifying weakness in computer systems and/or computer networks and coming with countermeasures that protect the weaknesses. Ethical hackers must abide by the following rules.

◉ Get written permission from the owner of the computer system and/or computer network before hacking.

◉ Protect the privacy of the organization been hacked.

◉ Transparently report all the identified weaknesses in the computer system to the organization.

◉ Inform hardware and software vendors of the identified weaknesses.

Why Ethical Hacking?

◉ Information is one of the most valuable assets of an organization. Keeping information secure can protect an organization’s image and save an organization a lot of money.

◉ Fake hacking can lead to loss of business for organizations that deal in finance such as PayPal. Ethical hacking puts them a step ahead of the cyber criminals who would otherwise lead to loss of business.

Legality of Ethical Hacking

Ethical Hacking is legal if the hacker abides by the rules stipulated in the above section on the definition of ethical hacking. The International Council of E-Commerce Consultants (EC-Council) provides a certification program that tests individual’s skills. Those who pass the examination are awarded with certificates. The certificates are supposed to be renewed after some time.

Source: guru99.com

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5 Reasons why you should learn Ethical Hacking

When it comes to hacking, surely you might think of a man who is busy with codes on big machines in a dark room and surrounded by bulky racks with blinking lights. All thanks to movies and TV series, hackers do have that corrupt reputation but let me tell you that there are some noble hackers too. And they are White Hat Hackers who are involved in ethical hacking. Considering the increase in the number of cyber attacks, the demand for ethical hackers has increased, as companies are hiring them to protect their data from the black hat hackers who are involved with illegal activities. But, being one [ethical hackers] is not an easy task and requires a lot of studying about tools, techniques and penetration testing. If you are still contemplating whether an ethical hacking career is your cup of tea, here are the top 5 reasons to learn ethical hacking that might convince you to build a career around it.

What is Ethical Hacking?

For all those who do not know, Ethical Hackers are skilled individuals who are granted access to the network by the authorities and then report vulnerabilities in the system. For this job, applicants should know about networking skills and have a good understanding of skills, such as Linux, Cryptography, Database Management Systems (DBMS), and Social Engineering.

Reasons why you should learn Ethical Hacking 

1. Understand A Hackers Mindset 

The most obvious benefit of learning ethical hacking is its potential to improve and inform on how a corporate network is defended. For any organization, when it comes to Cyber Security, the primary threat is a black hat hacker. And by learning how they operate, it can help defenders identify and prioritize potential menaces. Practically, it is not possible to remove all the attacks from a network. But with ethical hacking skills, Cyber Security professionals will be able to minimize the impact of the potential threat and assign limited resources that reduce the chances of a successful attack. Training in ethical hacking can help network defenders to develop this kind of mindset. 

2. Know Hidden Techniques and Explore Better Ways 

By ethical hacking into the system, you can learn about ample security options, which otherwise might have resulted in security breaches. With the right approach, you can know about the best security practices to be followed and new concepts like:

◉ Hacking Mobile Phone

◉ Windows and Linux

◉ ART of Hacking

◉ Testing Web Application Security 

Learning all these concepts would not only be used in your professional career but also when you decide to change your platform.

3. Helps with Development and Quality Assurance

Whenever a new product is developed, stakeholders often neglect its security testing due to a time crunch, which at times leave the software vulnerable to theft and hacking. But if there is an ethical hacker on board, the security testing can be performed quickly, efficiently and comprehensively with the best industry practices. Beyond this, learning ethical hacking can help with studying tools, created by hackers and quality assurance testers to expedite the remediation of common vulnerabilities. Moreover, by knowing about these tools, developers can acquire knowledge about coding errors that should be avoided.

4. Good salary package 

According to INFOSEC Institute, the average salary for a Certified Ethical Hacker is $71,331 per annum. If you learn Ethical Hacking, your chances of securing a career in Cyber Security will increase, an industry which will be recruiting 3.5 million unfilled cybersecurity jobs globally by 2021. On top of it, the demand for Cyber Security professionals is more than the supply. And that’s perhaps the reason why the companies are readily paying a handsome salary to recruit for their Cyber Security team to protect their information from black hat hackers.

5. The world is your Oyster 

As an ethical hacker, you have the liberty to work for whichever industry you want. You can work for one of the Fortune 500 or even start a small venture on your own. Moreover, for those who aspire to travel the world, ethical hacking might be the right start. The reason being that on the global scale, Cyber attacks are on an all-time ride and are outpacing the supply of ethical hackers. Thus, there are plenty of opportunities for cybersecurity professionals. 

Just remember this: the hacking practice one which you are indulging is ethical and is for a greater good. Whenever finding a system is vulnerable to some attacks, you will be reporting it to the higher authorities, rather than finding any malicious personal monetary gain out of it. With this, you will not only protect your organization but also experience the adrenaline rush of successfully hacking into somebody else’s system.

Source: mygreatlearning.com

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Professional Ethics - Whistleblower Policy

Whistleblowers are those employees or ex-employees of a company who report their company’s misdoings and expose the wrongful and unethical actions of their employer(s). Depending on the kind of whistleblowing they do, whistleblowers are categorized into the following two types −

◉ Internal whistleblowers − Internal whistleblowers report the unethical actions or illegal procedures of an employee or a group of employees of their company to someone who is a supervisor or senior authority in that company.

◉ External whistleblowers − External whistleblowers report the misgivings of their companies to external agencies. Most of the external whistleblowers come from huge corporations where the top management itself passes on unethical and at times, illegal directions to follow.

There are times when whistleblowers are also employees working with various other corporations, both local and international. Due to this, many whistleblowers are also categorized based on the organizations they come from. Depending on that, there are two types of whistleblowers −

◉ Federal whistleblowers − Federal whistleblowers work with government bodies and report cases that are related to national policies, etc. A recent case could be cited of Mr Edward Snowden, who used to work with NSA as a government contractor and reported NSA to be spying on people and tapping their phone calls.

◉ Corporate whistleblowers − Corporate whistleblowers work with private corporate houses and leak acts of cheating and fudging records and accounts to higher authorities.

Many big insurance houses in the past had been brought to task by ethical employees who didn’t like the way the companies were functioning. One of the largest energy companies, Enron, from the US was brought to its knees by Sherron Watkins, who was the Vice President of the company and had reported massive irregularities in the accounting stages of various financial reports.

There are rules and provisions made for whistleblowers who report wrongdoing of their seniors in the company to either the authorities of the company or an external agency −

◉ A whistleblower need only report the wrongdoing. He doesn’t need to investigate the unethical practices.

◉ Whistleblowers can request complete confidentiality, although sometimes, the identity of the whistleblower has to be made public to conduct a proper legal investigation.

◉ Whistleblowers are provided protection against any legal or illegal repercussion from employers, changes in terms of employment like assigning them poor assignment, lowering their salaries, or termination.

There are certain things that a whistleblower needs to be aware of. A whistleblower will not be guaranteed any immunity against his personal wrongdoings and for that he will be held accountable. Also, his motives for blowing the whistle need to be ethical and not to gain personal benefits.

Source: tutorialspoint.com

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Major Paybacks after Gaining EC-Council CND Certification

The network is the front line in the cybersecurity battle, and network administrators require to defend it. EC-Council's [Certified Network Defender Certification] CND certification provides you a robust foundation of network security and the strategic expertise to defend data and create defenses in an enterprise network. Certified Network Defender (CND) is the world's most advanced network defense certification that includes 14 of the most contemporary network security domains any individual will ever want to learn when they plan to protect, identify, and respond to network attacks.

CND, Certified Network Defender, is a vendor-neutral network security certification. It is a skills-based certification based on a job-task analysis and cybersecurity education framework presented by EC-Council.

EC-Council Certified Network Defender exams comprise multiple question banks to retain the high integrity of certification examinations.

CND Exam Details:

• Exam Code: 312-38
• Number of questions: 100
• Duration: 4 hours
• Availability: ECC exam
• Test format: Interactive multiple-choice questions

With the market needs, prospects for a cybersecurity specialist are rising. In the same way, a profesional who own CND certification is responsible for:

• Examining a network for vulnerabilities.
• Installation of security programs.
• Assessing reports after checking networks.
• Overseeing networks for any vulnerabilities or data breaches if possible and so on.

What Can You Expect as a Certified Network Defender?

If you want to get into this profession or choose certified network defenders as your career choice, you are going towards a successful career.

Software developers and software engineers are creating new software and applications per the market need or satisfying the client's requirements. But they require professionals to secure networks and data in their teams. And this is where a cybersecurity specialist, including a cybersecurity engineer, analyst, or certified network defender, comes into play.

With CND Certification, You Will Gain:

Learning Efficiency

It is not a simple task to become skilled in a certified network defending job. You have to be a phenomenal problem-solver, critical thinker, analytical thinker, and a sharp observer.

As a Certified Network Defender, you come across different technologies, comprising networking, security models or tools, pentest, and many more, indulge in data security over the network in any organization.

CND | An Indicator of Cybersecurity Expertise

Job Security

As data is growing every day, and requirement for data managing is rising. In the same situation, the requirement for data science and machine learning professionals is increasing. So, it is for cybersecurity professionals.

There is no bar on excellent career opportunities for a certified network defender. With the development in technology and advancements, hackers are enriching and upskilling each day. As an outcome, there is a probability for a secured job as you hold CND certification.

 It is an important role and all about credit. No organization would prefer employing new people if they have trustworthy employees. It is because cybersecurity or network defending is important for any corporation to protect its sensitive information.

Higher Salary with CND Certification

As confirmed, CND certification holder gets job security for the prolonged. But you might be thinking how one person can stay at the same place for a long time? This can only happen if you get a good salary raise and promotion with other perks. The majority of Certified Network Defender salary range between $67,000 to $126,500 currently.

10 Best CND Certification Exam Preparation Tips

1. Make a detailed study schedule for taking the exam. Incorporate days to take certain CND exam topics, when and where you’ll study and your time commitment.
2. Get familiar with the detailed list of topics asked on the CND exam.
3. Identify your weakest, heavier-weighted topics before your start your CND exam preparation.
4. Select the study materials that best fit you
5. Enroll in a training course offered by EC-Council.
6. Use the Certified Network Defender study guide and study it thoroughly.
7. Simulate the actual exam day experience by taking CND practice tests.
8. Take notes.
9. Don’t cram before the actual exam day. Sleep more than you usually do the night before the exam.
10. Have faith in yourself.

Conclusion

As a certified network defender, you come across many lucrative opportunities to relish for yourself. Along with higher salaries, you get job security in a volatile market.

Other than that, A cybersecurity professional is crucial to prevent data breaches, and so is the CND certification holder (Certified Network defender) in any corporation.

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Ethical Hacking - Tools

We will discuss in brief some of famous tools that are widely used to prevent hacking and getting unauthorized access to a computer or network system.

NMAP

Nmap stands for Network Mapper. It is an open source tool that is used widely for network discovery and security auditing. Nmap was originally designed to scan large networks, but it can work equally well for single hosts. Network administrators also find it useful for tasks such as network inventory, managing service upgrade schedules, and monitoring host or service uptime.

Read More: 312-50: Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH)

Nmap uses raw IP packets to determine −

◉ what hosts are available on the network,

◉ what services those hosts are offering,

◉ what operating systems they are running on,

◉ what type of firewalls are in use, and other such characteristics.

Nmap runs on all major computer operating systems such as Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux.

Metasploit

Metasploit is one of the most powerful exploit tools. It’s a product of Rapid7 and most of its resources can be found at: www.metasploit.com. It comes in two versions − commercial and free edition. Matasploit can be used with command prompt or with Web UI.

With Metasploit, you can perform the following operations −

◉ Conduct basic penetration tests on small networks

◉ Run spot checks on the exploitability of vulnerabilities

◉ Discover the network or import scan data

◉ Browse exploit modules and run individual exploits on hosts

Burp Suit

Burp Suite is a popular platform that is widely used for performing security testing of web applications. It has various tools that work in collaboration to support the entire testing process, from initial mapping and analysis of an application's attack surface, through to finding and exploiting security vulnerabilities.

Burp is easy to use and provides the administrators full control to combine advanced manual techniques with automation for efficient testing. Burp can be easily configured and it contains features to assist even the most experienced testers with their work.

Angry IP Scanner

Angry IP scanner is a lightweight, cross-platform IP address and port scanner. It can scan IP addresses in any range. It can be freely copied and used anywhere. In order to increase the scanning speed, it uses multithreaded approach, wherein a separate scanning thread is created for each scanned IP address.

Angry IP Scanner simply pings each IP address to check if it’s alive, and then, it resolves its hostname, determines the MAC address, scans ports, etc. The amount of gathered data about each host can be saved to TXT, XML, CSV, or IP-Port list files. With help of plugins, Angry IP Scanner can gather any information about scanned IPs.

Cain & Abel

Cain & Abel is a password recovery tool for Microsoft Operating Systems. It helps in easy recovery of various kinds of passwords by employing any of the following methods −

◉ sniffing the network,

◉ cracking encrypted passwords using Dictionary, Brute-Force and Cryptanalysis attacks,

◉ recording VoIP conversations,

◉ decoding scrambled passwords,

◉ recovering wireless network keys,

◉ revealing password boxes,

◉ uncovering cached passwords and analyzing routing protocols.

Cain & Abel is a useful tool for security consultants, professional penetration testers and everyone else who plans to use it for ethical reasons.

Ettercap

Ettercap stands for Ethernet Capture. It is a network security tool for Man-in-the-Middle attacks. It features sniffing of live connections, content filtering on the fly and many other interesting tricks. Ettercap has inbuilt features for network and host analysis. It supports active and passive dissection of many protocols.

You can run Ettercap on all the popular operating systems such as Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X.

EtherPeek

EtherPeek is a wonderful tool that simplifies network analysis in a multiprotocol heterogeneous network environment. EtherPeek is a small tool (less than 2 MB) that can be easily installed in a matter of few minutes.

EtherPeek proactively sniffs traffic packets on a network. By default, EtherPeek supports protocols such as AppleTalk, IP, IP Address Resolution Protocol (ARP), NetWare, TCP, UDP, NetBEUI, and NBT packets.

SuperScan

SuperScan is a powerful tool for network administrators to scan TCP ports and resolve hostnames. It has a user friendly interface that you can use to −

◉ Perform ping scans and port scans using any IP range.

◉ Scan any port range from a built-in list or any given range.

◉ View responses from connected hosts.

◉ Modify the port list and port descriptions using the built in editor.

◉ Merge port lists to build new ones.

◉ Connect to any discovered open port.

◉ Assign a custom helper application to any port.

QualysGuard

QualysGuard is an integrated suite of tools that can be utilized to simplify security operations and lower the cost of compliance. It delivers critical security intelligence on demand and automates the full spectrum of auditing, compliance and protection for IT systems and web applications.

QualysGuard includes a set of tools that can monitor, detect, and protect your global network.

WebInspect

WebInspect is a web application security assessment tool that helps identify known and unknown vulnerabilities within the Web application layer.

It can also help check that a Web server is configured properly, and attempts common web attacks such as parameter injection, cross-site scripting, directory traversal, and more.

LC4

LC4 was formerly known as L0phtCrack. It is a password auditing and recovery application. It is used to test password strength and sometimes to recover lost Microsoft Windows passwords, by using dictionary, brute-force, and hybrid attacks.

LC4 recovers Windows user account passwords to streamline migration of users to another authentication system or to access accounts whose passwords are lost.

LANguard Network Security Scanner

LANguard Network Scanner monitors a network by scanning connected machines and providing information about each node. You can obtain information about each individual operating system.

It can also detect registry issues and have a report set up in HTML format. For each computer, you can list the netbios name table, current logged-on user, and Mac address.

Network Stumbler

Network stumbler is a WiFi scanner and monitoring tool for Windows. It allows network professionals to detect WLANs. It is widely used by networking enthusiasts and hackers because it helps you find non-broadcasting wireless networks.

Network Stumbler can be used to verify if a network is well configured, its signal strength or coverage, and detect interference between one or more wireless networks. It can also be used to non-authorized connections.

ToneLoc

ToneLoc stands for Tone Locator. It was a popular war dialling computer program written for MS-DOS in the early 90’s. War dialling is a technique of using a modem to automatically scan a list of telephone numbers, usually dialling every number in a local area code.

Malicious hackers use the resulting lists in breaching computer security - for guessing user accounts, or locating modems that might provide an entry-point into computer or other electronic systems.

It can be used by security personnel to detect unauthorized devices on a company’s telephone network.

Source: tutorialspoint.com

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Ethical Hacking: System Hacking

The term system can be anything, either a desktop, laptop or tablet, etc. When the term "System Hacking" comes into play, it usually means the art of hacking a computer using tools and techniques. 'How to hack a system or computer?' is probably one of the most frequently asked questions by most Internet users and hacking enthusiasts. So here's a brief idea of what and how system hacking plays a significant role to doom the target.

# What is System Hacking?

System hacking is a vast subject that consists of hacking the different software-based technological systems such as laptops, desktops, etc. System hacking is defined as the compromise of computer systems and software to access the target computer and steal or misuse their sensitive information. Here the malicious hacker exploits the weaknesses in a computer system or network to gain unauthorized access to its data or take illegal advantage.

# How Hackers Perform System Hacking?

A hacker can hack the computer system because the hacker knows the actual work of computer systems and software inside the system. For this, a hacker has information about the systems, networking, and knowledge of other areas related to computer science. Anyone who is using a computer and is connected to the internet is susceptible to malicious hackers' threats. These online villains generally use viruses, malware, Trojans, worms, phishing techniques, email spamming, social engineering, exploit operating system vulnerabilities, or port vulnerabilities to access any victim's system.

# What Can These Predators Do Using after Compromising the System

When your PC gets connected to the internet, the hacker may execute the malware on your PC and quietly transmits the personal, financial, and essential information without your knowing consent. These hackers can blackmail the victim for the money by stealing that sensitive information from your computer, which you don't want to reveal. After compromising the victim's system, the hacker can do these following things:

◉ Ruin the victim's data by deleting the files.

◉ Steal files and folders.

◉ Hijack victim's username and password.

◉ Steal money and credit card details while the victim is doing e-marketing or online transaction.

◉ Sell victim's information to third parties who may use this information for illicit purposes.

◉ Create traffic to shut down your website.

◉ Get access to the servers and manipulate the files, programs, etc.

# Linux System Hacking

As we all know, Linux is an Operating System (OS) assembled user the model of open-source software development and distribution and is based on Unix OS created by Linus Torvalds.

Now to hack a Linux-based computer system and get access to a password protected Linux system, we have to know Linux's basic file structure. As we know, Linux is considered to be the most secure OS to be hacked or cracked, but in the world of Hacking, nothing is 100% secured.

Hackers usually use the following techniques to hack the Windows system.

◉ Hack Linux using the SHADOW file.

◉ Another technique commonly used by hackers is to bypass the user password option in Linux.

◉ In another technique, the hacker detects the bug on Linux distribution and tries to take advantage of it.

# Windows Hacking

The user password of Windows OS, which appears after the Windows starts logging in, lets users protect the computer from getting unauthorized access. Choosing a strong password of more than eight digits is an excellent practice. Henceforth you can protect your files and folders from the hands of malicious users. There are several tricks and techniques to crack a windows password. But, from the hacker's point of view, if you can use social engineer your victim and find a Windows computer open, you can easily modify the existing password and give a new password that will be unaware of the victim or the owner of the computer.

# Human Precautions Against System Hacking

The following are the precautionary points you should know to protect from system hacking or computer hacking:

◉ Use extreme caution while entering chatrooms or dealing with chatrooms' users online.

◉ Continuously check for the accuracy of the personal account.

◉ Carefully deal with friends' requests from online social networking sites and emails.

◉ Don't open or click unnecessary emails from strangers or unknown senders.

# Keep these points in mind to protect your system from hacking:

◉ Use both way firewall and keep updating.

◉ Update the OS for better patches.

◉ Avoid questionable websites.

◉ Use Internet Security Antivirus and Anti-malware software protection with definition updates.

◉ Increase the browser security settings.

◉ Download the required software from trusted sites only.

◉ Practice using safe email protocols such as SSL, SMTPS, etc.

◉ Check whether the sites are HTTPS or not for better secured online services and transactions.

◉ Immediately delete those messages which you suspect to be spam.

◉ Try to use genuine software(s) and not the pirated ones because the pirated ones could be reverse-engineered. Hackers can attach monitoring or malicious tools and programs with the software.

Source: w3schools.in

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How to Get CEH Certification?

Hackers are experts at aiming systems and programs with weak security. To defend against hackers, you require to learn the techniques of ethical hacking. Certified Ethical Hacking, CEH certification is a one-of-a-kind certification program for people seasoned in IT or information security looking to advance their career in hacking as cybersecurity professionals.

Jobs for Certified Ethical Hackers

IT security is a rapidly growing field, and its expansion is showing no decline. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) projects job development at a rate of 28 percent for the decade ending in 2026. This field is demonstrating the most potential for job growth from all other occupations. Hence, a CEH certification will never keep you jobless.

With the practical advanced hacking expertise you will gain in your through your CEH exam preparation, you’ll be qualified for entry into a job as:

• systems administrator,
• security auditor,
• vulnerability tester, or
• hacking tool analyst.

What’s the CEH Exam Like?

The CEH exam comprises 125 questions to be answered within 4 hours.

Within five minutes, you will come to know whether you have passed or failed the exam. You will be given a detailed report of the topics you did poorly on.

It requires approximately a week to obtain your digital certificate and a month to receive your physical certificate, as well as a welcome letter officially granting you the title of a Certified Ethical Hacker.

How to Get a CEH Certification?

Follow these steps to make a CEH certification:

1. Get a Relevant Bachelor’s Degree

To begin your career, it's essential to get a bachelor's degree in a field corresponding to ethical hacking, like computer science or cybersecurity. While you don't require a degree to get some coding jobs, many network security jobs need prior experience with networks, programming, or related systems to assure employees completely understand their responsibilities and work. This indicates a bachelor's degree may make it simpler for you to get a security-related job and begin your path toward CEH certification.

2. Obtain Hands-On Experience

Once you have a degree, obtain a job related to network security so you can begin obtaining worthwhile experience to apply for your CEH exam. The EC-Council administers the exam, demands two years of security experience before applicants attempt the exam. Though, you can also take approved training courses to avoid this requirement and study ethical hacking and security from qualified instructors. This experience helps you study for the CEH exam and helps you to gain the skills required to be successful as an ethical hacker.

Must Read: Is CEH Certification Worth It?

3. Apply for the CEH Exam

There are several levels of CEH exams from which you can take. Still, the fundamental requirements for the first level of examination are an application through the EC-Council, evidence of previous experience, and an application fee. The EC-Council normally reviews applications to assure accuracy and responds to applicants within a few days. After the EC-Council approves your application, you can register for the CEH exam and conclude preparing to take it.

4. Pass the CEH exam and Get Certification

Normally, the CEH exam last four hours and comprise of various types of questions broken off sections. There are normally several versions of each exam with different questions to assure participants can't share answers effortlessly. A passing score relies on the difficulty level of the questions on the specific exam you take. When you receive a passing score and receive your CEH certification, you can put this Certification on your CV and use it to start your career as a certified ethical hacker.

Preparing for any EC-Council examination can be exciting and stressful in equal means. Still, with appropriate pacing and study methods in place, there’s no reason to worry about the CEH certification exam. This exam can open the door to one of today’s most compelling IT careers and provides those who pass it the opportunity to use their skills in different fields. Passing the CEH exam fetches greater reward, so follow these tips and take your time to assure you’re ready when exam day comes!

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What is Digital Forensics? History, Process, Types, Challenges

What is Digital Forensics?

Digital Forensics is defined as the process of preservation, identification, extraction, and documentation of computer evidence which can be used by the court of law. It is a science of finding evidence from digital media like a computer, mobile phone, server, or network. It provides the forensic team with the best techniques and tools to solve complicated digital-related cases.

Digital Forensics helps the forensic team to analyzes, inspect, identifies, and preserve the digital evidence residing on various types of electronic devices.

History of Digital forensics

Here, are important landmarks from the history of Digital Forensics:

◉ Hans Gross (1847 -1915): First use of scientific study to head criminal investigations

◉ FBI (1932): Set up a lab to offer forensics services to all field agents and other law authorities across the USA.

◉ In 1978 the first computer crime was recognized in the Florida Computer Crime Act.

◉ Francis Galton (1982 - 1911): Conducted first recorded study of fingerprints

◉ In 1992, the term Computer Forensics was used in academic literature.

◉ 1995 International Organization on Computer Evidence (IOCE) was formed.

◉ In 2000, the First FBI Regional Computer Forensic Laboratory established.

◉ In 2002, Scientific Working Group on Digital Evidence (SWGDE) published the first book about digital forensic called "Best practices for Computer Forensics".

◉ In 2010, Simson Garfinkel identified issues facing digital investigations.

Objectives of computer forensics

Here are the essential objectives of using Computer forensics:

◉ It helps to recover, analyze, and preserve computer and related materials in such a manner that it helps the investigation agency to present them as evidence in a court of law.

◉ It helps to postulate the motive behind the crime and identity of the main culprit.

◉ Designing procedures at a suspected crime scene which helps you to ensure that the digital evidence obtained is not corrupted.

◉ Data acquisition and duplication: Recovering deleted files and deleted partitions from digital media to extract the evidence and validate them.

◉ Helps you to identify the evidence quickly, and also allows you to estimate the potential impact of the malicious activity on the victim

◉ Producing a computer forensic report which offers a complete report on the investigation process.

◉ Preserving the evidence by following the chain of custody.

Process of Digital forensics

Digital forensics entails the following steps:

◉ Identification

◉ Preservation

◉ Analysis

◉ Documentation

◉ Presentation

Process of Digital Forensics

Let's study each in detail

Identification

It is the first step in the forensic process. The identification process mainly includes things like what evidence is present, where it is stored, and lastly, how it is stored (in which format).

Electronic storage media can be personal computers, Mobile phones, PDAs, etc.

Preservation

In this phase, data is isolated, secured, and preserved. It includes preventing people from using the digital device so that digital evidence is not tampered with.

Analysis

In this step, investigation agents reconstruct fragments of data and draw conclusions based on evidence 

found. However, it might take numerous iterations of examination to support a specific crime theory.

Documentation

In this process, a record of all the visible data must be created. It helps in recreating the crime scene and reviewing it. It Involves proper documentation of the crime scene along with photographing, sketching, and crime-scene mapping.

Presentation

In this last step, the process of summarization and explanation of conclusions is done.

However, it should be written in a layperson's terms using abstracted terminologies. All abstracted terminologies should reference the specific details.

Types of Digital Forensics

Three types of digital forensics are:

Disk Forensics:

It deals with extracting data from storage media by searching active, modified, or deleted files.

Network Forensics:

It is a sub-branch of digital forensics. It is related to monitoring and analysis of computer network traffic to collect important information and legal evidence.

Wireless Forensics:

It is a division of network forensics. The main aim of wireless forensics is to offers the tools need to collect and analyze the data from wireless network traffic.

Database Forensics:

It is a branch of digital forensics relating to the study and examination of databases and their related metadata.

Malware Forensics:

This branch deals with the identification of malicious code, to study their payload, viruses, worms, etc.

Email Forensics

Deals with recovery and analysis of emails, including deleted emails, calendars, and contacts.

Memory Forensics:

It deals with collecting data from system memory (system registers, cache, RAM) in raw form and then carving the data from Raw dump.

Mobile Phone Forensics:

It mainly deals with the examination and analysis of mobile devices. It helps to retrieve phone and SIM contacts, call logs, incoming, and outgoing SMS/MMS, Audio, videos, etc.

Challenges faced by Digital Forensics

Here, are major challenges faced by the Digital Forensic:

◉ The increase of PC's and extensive use of internet access

◉ Easy availability of hacking tools

◉ Lack of physical evidence makes prosecution difficult.

◉ The large amount of storage space into Terabytes that makes this investigation job difficult.

◉ Any technological changes require an upgrade or changes to solutions.

Example Uses of Digital Forensics

In recent time, commercial organizations have used digital forensics in following a type of cases:

◉ Intellectual Property theft

◉ Industrial espionage

◉ Employment disputes

◉ Fraud investigations

◉ Inappropriate use of the Internet and email in the workplace

◉ Forgeries related matters

◉ Bankruptcy investigations

◉ Issues concern with the regulatory compliance

Advantages of Digital forensics

Here, are pros/benefits of Digital forensics

◉ To ensure the integrity of the computer system.

◉ To produce evidence in the court, which can lead to the punishment of the culprit.

◉ It helps the companies to capture important information if their computer systems or networks are compromised.

◉ Efficiently tracks down cybercriminals from anywhere in the world.

◉ Helps to protect the organization's money and valuable time.

◉ Allows to extract, process, and interpret the factual evidence, so it proves the cybercriminal action's in the court.

Disadvantages of Digital Forensics

Here, are major cos/ drawbacks of using Digital Forensic

◉ Digital evidence accepted into court. However, it is must be proved that there is no tampering

◉ Producing electronic records and storing them is an extremely costly affair

◉ Legal practitioners must have extensive computer knowledge

◉ Need to produce authentic and convincing evidence

◉ If the tool used for digital forensic is not according to specified standards, then in the court of law, the evidence can be disapproved by justice.

◉ Lack of technical knowledge by the investigating officer might not offer the desired result

Source: guru99.com

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What is Cybercrime? Types, Tools, Examples

What is Cybercrime?

Cybercrime is defined as an unlawful action against any person using a computer, its systems, and its online or offline applications. It occurs when information technology is used to commit or cover an offense. However, the act is only considered Cybercrime if it is intentional and not accidental.

Read More: EC-Council Certified Security Specialist (ECSS)

Example of Cybercrime

Here, are some most commonly occurring Cybercrimes:

◉ The fraud did by manipulating computer network

◉ Unauthorized access to or modification of data or application

◉ Intellectual property theft that includes software piracy

◉ Industrial spying and access to or theft of computer materials

◉ Writing or spreading computer viruses or malware

◉ Digitally distributing child pornography

Cybercrime Attack Types

Cybercrime can attack in various ways. Here, is some most common cybercrime attack mode:

Hacking:

It is an act of gaining unauthorized access to a computer system or network.

Denial Of Service Attack:

In this cyberattack, the cyber-criminal uses the bandwidth of the victim's network or fills their e-mail box with spammy mail. Here, the intention is to disrupt their regular services.

Software Piracy:

Theft of software by illegally copying genuine programs or counterfeiting. It also includes the distribution of products intended to pass for the original.

Phishing:

Pishing is a technique of extracting confidential information from the bank/financial institutional account holders by illegal ways.

Spoofing:

It is an act of getting one computer system or a network to pretend to have the identity of another computer. It is mostly used to get access to exclusive privileges enjoyed by that network or computer.

Cyber Crime Tools

There are many types of Digital forensic tools

Kali Linux:

Kali Linux is an open-source software that is maintained and funded by Offensive Security. It is a specially designed program for digital forensics and penetration testing.

Ophcrack:

This tool is mainly used for cracking the hashes, which are generated by the same files of windows. It offers a secure GUI system and allows you to runs on multiple platforms.

EnCase:

This software allows an investigator to image and examine data from hard disks and removable disks.

SafeBack:

SafeBack is mainly using for imaging the hard disks of Intel-based computer systems and restoring these images to some other hard disks.

Data dumper:

This is a command-line computer forensic tool. It is freely available for the UNIX Operating system, which can make exact copies of disks suitable for digital forensic analysis.

Md5sum:

A tool to check helps you to check data is copied to another storage successfully or not.

Source: guru99.com

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Cyber Crime & Cyber Security

The crime that involves and uses computer devices and Internet, is known as cybercrime.

Cybercrime can be committed against an individual or a group; it can also be committed against government and private organizations. It may be intended to harm someone’s reputation, physical harm, or even mental harm.

Cybercrime can cause direct harm or indirect harm to whoever the victim is.

However, the largest threat of cybercrime is on the financial security of an individual as well as the government.

Cybercrime causes loss of billions of USD every year.

Types of Cybercrime

Let us now discuss the major types of cybercrime −

Hacking

It is an illegal practice by which a hacker breaches the computer’s security system of someone for personal interest.

Unwarranted mass-surveillance

Mass surveillance means surveillance of a substantial fraction of a group of people by the authority especially for the security purpose, but if someone does it for personal interest, it is considered as cybercrime.

Child pornography

It is one of the most heinous crimes that is brazenly practiced across the world. Children are sexually abused and videos are being made and uploaded on the Internet.

Child grooming

It is the practice of establishing an emotional connection with a child especially for the purpose of child-trafficking and child prostitution.

Copyright infringement

If someone infringes someone’s protected copyright without permission and publishes that with his own name, is known as copyright infringement.

Money laundering

Illegal possession of money by an individual or an organization is known as money laundering. It typically involves transfers of money through foreign banks and/or legitimate business. In other words, it is the practice of transforming illegitimately earned money into the legitimate financial system.

Cyber-extortion

When a hacker hacks someone’s email server, or computer system and demands money to reinstate the system, it is known as cyber-extortion.

Cyber-terrorism

Normally, when someone hacks government’s security system or intimidates government or such a big organization to advance his political or social objectives by invading the security system through computer networks, it is known as cyber-terrorism.

Cyber Security

Cyber security is a potential activity by which information and other communication systems are protected from and/or defended against the unauthorized use or modification or exploitation or even theft.

Likewise, cyber security is a well-designed technique to protect computers, networks, different programs, personal data, etc., from unauthorized access.

All sorts of data whether it is government, corporate, or personal need high security; however, some of the data, which belongs to the government defense system, banks, defense research and development organization, etc. are highly confidential and even small amount of negligence to these data may cause great damage to the whole nation. Therefore, such data need security at a very high level.

How to Secure Data?

Let us now discuss how to secure data. In order to make your security system strong, you need to pay attention to the following −

◉ Security Architecture

◉ Network Diagram

◉ Security Assessment Procedure

◉ Security Policies

◉ Risk Management Policy

◉ Backup and Restore Procedures

◉ Disaster Recovery Plan

◉ Risk Assessment Procedures

Once you have a complete blueprint of the points mentioned above, you can put better security system to your data and can also retrieve your data if something goes wrong.

Source: tutorialspoint.com

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