What is Cyber Security And Ethical Hacking?

Cyber security is a broad term that includes various computer security mechanisms, ethical hacking included.

Today, we will break down what each profession is, these professionals’ responsibilities, and the educational qualifications needed to enter the field. 

What Is Cyber Security?

The data and integrity of computing assets that belong or relate to an enterprise’s network are secured by cyber security. Its goal is to defend those assets against all threats.

Cyber security is a broad subject that includes many networks and information security mechanisms, such as data security, digital forensics, ethical hacking, and many more. With that being said, we can conclude that ethical hacking is a subpart of cyber security.

This profession requires a combination of different skills and tools to provide a secure environment for users. Experts need to have a strong understanding of various subjects and to be able to face challenges such as zero-day attacks, ransomware, kill chains, zero-day attacks, etc.

Cyber security expert job description

Experts on cyber security don’t have to hack into the system. By taking all necessary security measures, their role is to protect the system.

A cyber security expert’s prominent role to perform regular audits, discover inefficiencies in the system, and then implement the most efficient technologies to improve the security system. Here are some of the responsibilities that come with this role:

• By performing routine maintenance, they need to keep the security system updated. 
• The professional must grant appropriate access privileges for advanced system protection.
• They have to explain to the organization about the consequences of malicious attacks.
• They provide various suggestions to improve the security system.

Educational qualifications

The cyber security specialist must have a bachelor’s degree in computer science, information technology, telecommunications, electronics & electrical, or any related field. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, information security analysts’ employment is projected to grow 31 percent by 2029, much faster than the average for all occupations.

What Is Ethical Hacking?

Ethical hackers learn and perform hacking professionally, based on the client’s direction, and later, present a maturity scorecard highlighting the system’s overall risk, vulnerabilities, and suggestions to improve. This professional is a hacker who uses their skills to find the loopholes of the given system. The reason behind them being called ethical hackers is that the server/system admin grants permission to see the loopholes. 

Hackers are of various kinds and are referred to according to the hacking system’s purpose. Broadly speaking, there are two main hackers:  White-Hat hacker and Black-Hat hacker. Ethical hacking is carried out by ‘white-hat hackers’ whose role is the same as that of ‘black-hat’ hackers, but the intent is different. In the event of ethical hacking, the hacker uses hacking to safeguard the system.

In cases of international conflicts, terrorist organizations pay cybercriminals to break into security networks. They do so to exploit national security features or extort massive amounts of money by injecting malware and restricting access.

New worms, malware, viruses, and ransomware are multiplying every day, creating a need for ethical hacking services. The predominant advantage of ethical hacking is to prevent malicious attackers from stealing and misusing data.

Ethical hacker job description

Since this is privileged information that may be used for illicit purposes, ethical hackers are legally obliged to disclose any problems they encounter during the course of their work.  Some duties that come with this role are:

• Discovering bugs from the POV of an attacker so that weak points can be identified 
• Adopting a secure network that prevents breaches of security. 
• Defending national security by protecting data from threats.
• Evaluating the performance of a system by testing it for various security breaches.
• Testing the security system of the company and also suggest solutions to enhance it.
• Performing regular pen tests on the system, web application, and/or the network to verify whether a violation of the security framework is likely.
• Generating reports after finding the vulnerabilities and also providing feedback once the issues are resolved.
• Informing the organization about how the attack can affect its operations and users.

Educational qualifications

In order to become an ethical hacker, one should have a bachelor’s degree in fields such as computer science, information technology, or an advanced diploma in cyber security. Ethical hackers need to have computer programming experience and a grasp of various programming languages like Java, C++, Perl, and Pascal.

As everything is becoming digital today, awareness of cyber security and what it entails is important. The field of ethical hacking and cybersecurity are closely related. More specifically, ethical hacking is part of the broad field of cybersecurity. First of all, you have to study cyber security and have a fundamental knowledge of it; only after that, you’ll be able to become an ethical hacker.