Working in the field of cybersecurity, Wayne Nordstrom wears many hats. He is a network engineer, a network security architect, and a Linux security engineer. One of the roles that Wayne Nordstrom fulfills is that of an ethical hacker.
An ethical hacker breaks into or tries to break into the digital network of an organization. The difference between ethical hackers and other hackers is that ethical hackers do this legally with the goal of ensuring that an organization’s network is secure. Another difference between hacking and ethical hacking is the reporting requirements. Ethical hackers give feedback to the organization on the result of their attempts to breach network security. Part of the job of an ethical hacker is keeping up with the latest technologies and hacking techniques to ensure that they mimic the tool set and skill set of malicious hackers.
The first thing an ethical hacker does is define the goal of the hacking activity or penetration testing activity. The scope of the testing or the specific network components involved is also defined. The analysis of the target is then begun. During this phase the ethical hacker gleans as much information about the network and allied technologies as they can, information such as IP addresses, ports, OS types and versions, and so forth. The ethical hacker then begins the break-in phase and attempts to defeat the network’s security protocols. If successful, the hacker accomplishes the defined goal and creates a report about the network’s vulnerabilities, along with recommendations on how to strengthen the network.
