The Professioanl Hackers

When people first hear about hacking, they will usually see this idea as something negative. Indeed, hacking has always been about taking advantage of unprotected or weakly-guarded sites or systems for the individuals own selfish interest. Because of this, others (often companies,) who want to strengthen the protection of their online systems turn to professionals for help. These professional hackers (sometimes known as "white hats,") use an ethical hacking methodology to help build a stronger defense against real hacking threats. By deliberately "attacking" the system, they can quickly identify its flaws, and then begin to come up with contingency plans to stall, avoid or eliminate real actual hacking attacks.

From the ethical hacking methodology, you can see that not all hacks are bad. The act of hacking ethically into a system in order to expose possible weak points, ones that real hackers, or "black hats" (due to less savoury intentions) can exploit, can help prevent the company from loss of earnings or reputation. Indeed, a lot of companies are now seeking the services of those who can perform this task because they understand that the only way to fight against skilled hackers is with another skilled hacker of their own!

Those with a strong understanding of computer systems can train to carry out these services. Though when you consider the ethical hacking methodology includes breaking into online systems, it is quite possible that many white hats today have gained their experiences originally as black hats themselves!

So long as your actions have been permitted by the company who owns the system, the mischief or disorder that you'll create during the hacking process will entirely benefit the company so long as they follow up and eliminate those weaknesses.

Ethical hackers are either hired professionals who have made a name for themselves as black hat hackers, or are real employees of the company who are knowledgeable enough to perform the task.

This is not about good or bad hackers, white hats or black hats; ultimately it is about the benefit of the company, and the protection of sensitive data they may hold. If you had a less desirable past (black hat,) but have since decided to work for the system than against it, you will be well cared for because of the service you can now provide.

The ethical hacking methodology is all about getting results when it comes to protecting online systems against destructive attacks. You are concerned only with keeping the assets and interests safe, and only by thinking and acting like a true hacker can this be achieved.

Without a doubt, this is an effective way to protect from online threats. If you're a company, do not hesitate to hire a white hat hacker, because they are equipped with the right knowledge and skills to combat a threat from another hacker. On the other hand, if you're involved in hacking yourself, perhaps there would be a career for you to consider in working on the other side?

Do you want your business to have a secure system? Protect it from dubious characters who want to steal sensitive documents by hiring a reputable information security specialist. They can provide ethical hacking, penetration testing, and Payment Card Industry (PCI) training and consulting. Here is more information about what this is and what it can do for your company.

What is an information security specialist?

Another term for an information security specialist is a computer security specialist. This expert is responsible for protecting the computer system from threats. These threats can be internal or external in nature. Other than, private businesses, the specialist provides services for government agencies and educational institutions.

The need for these skilled professionals continues to grow. This is because threats to computer systems and networks develop rapidly along with technological developments. Due to this, the specialist must continue to upgrade his or her level of knowledge. He or she must also increase arsenal of useful tools, applications, and systems.

A basic security measure involves the control of passwords. A computer security specialist may require the members of the company to change their password frequently. This reduces the chances of unauthorized access to confidential programs, networks, or databases.

Who would I protect my business from?

Usually, the most dangerous risk to any computer network comes from outside sources. The specialist puts up firewalls for hackers. He or she regularly installs programs that have automatic alerts when there is any attempt to infiltrate the system. You can even find high-tech programs that can point out where the hacker is by identifying the internet protocol address of the intruder.

Two popular services offered by computer specialists are ethical hacking and penetration testing.

Ethical hacking and Penetration testing 101

Skilled computer experts usually perform ethical hacking. They use their programming skills to know the weaknesses in computer systems. While you can find non-ethical hackers abusing the vulnerabilities for personal gain, the ethical hacker evaluates and points them out, then suggests changes to strengthen the system. Computer experts keep systems and information safe with their ethical hacking services.

Most IT specialists consider ethical hacking as plain hacking because it still makes use of knowledge of computer systems in an attempt to crash or penetrate them. Most business owners consider it ethical because of its purpose, which is to increase the security in systems.

Penetration testing, on the other hand, is a kind of security evaluation done on a computer system. This involves a person trying to hack into the system. The goal of this service is to find out if someone with malicious intent can enter the system. Penetration testing can reveal what programs or applications hackers can access once they penetrate the system. There are many firms and online businesses offering penetration testing. This is highly-recommended, as damage to a computer system caused by a hostile attack can be costly to repair.

Most companies are required to have penetration testing. Compliance with the standard can seem difficult at first, but you can find many companies that have enough experience to help businesses meet the requirements at all levels

You can imagine my surprise when I tried to access my Facebook account two days ago and was prompted with a screen saying that my account had been locked out because there had been too many unauthorized attempts to access my account. My Facebook account had been hacked. What can you do when faced with this same tragedy? Luckily, Facebook has several security measures in place to help you restore your account and get back to sending messages to your friends again in no time.

All is not lost if you log-in to your account and get the same screen I got. I was more worried about other accounts I have that use the same user name and same password. The first screen basically states that Facebook needs to verify that you are the correct user for the account. So you have to click a button to proceed to the next screen. The next screen you will see will show you the internet address and the location of where someone was trying to access your account. In my case, I was shown a little pin on a Google map in Auckland, New Zealand. Facebook asked if this would have been me trying to log-in to my account from this location. Well, since I have never been to New Zealand it could not possibly have been me. So, I clicked the button that said something along the lines of this is not me.

Next, I was given the option of how I would like to identify myself as the proper owner of the account. I could either select an option of sending a confirmation e-mail to the e-mail account on file and then return to enter the activation code, or identify a series of pictures of my friends. The first option was pretty much never even an option. If my account had been hacked, how could I know if the person had already reset the e-mail account and the activation code would go to the knuckle head in New Zealand? I chose to try option two and identify pictures of my friends. It should be noted that you will be shown your friends pictures from their accounts and not pictures of them in your account. If you don't think that you can recognize your friends from a photo line up then you need to select the first option of the activation code.

I was led through a series of nine different friends and I was able to identify all of them. Facebook granted me access to my account and I was immediately prompted to change my password. After changing my password, I was given instructions by Facebook to change the password on any other accounts that I may have that use the same username and password. That was the whole process. So be careful and I would suggest changing your password once a month to be safe.

The increase in computer and mobile technology has led to greater threats in security. This could be in the form of viruses that can crash the system and allow easy access to confidential data. With the rapid modernisation in technology across corporations, how does one stop security intrusions from taking place? The job of securing systems and mobile devices can be best left to a trained ethical hacker. Such a person would have trained himself on an ethical hacking course.

The job of an ethical hacker is to systematically penetrate the computer network of an organisation in order to determine the security vulnerabilities of the same. Whatever turns out to be the vulnerability of the system is determined and then accordingly fixed by the IT department of the organisation. If these vulnerabilities are not fixed, they could be potentially exploited by a malicious hacker.

The methods used by an ethical and a malicious hacker are nearly the same. Both have almost the same knowledge in terms of programming. However, the intentions are what really differentiate one from the other. A traditional hacker uses illegal techniques to bypass a system’s defences, whereas the ethical hacker makes use of legal techniques. The ethical hacker is given permission by the organisation to invade security systems. In addition, this person also documents threats and vulnerabilities, providing an action plan on how to fix overall security.

Usually when a large number of software are being used on computers, it gives chances of infection from viruses. These viruses are actually illegal programs which can supply information to other sources. Poor or improper system configurations are liable to have infections and vulnerabilities. Any kind of hardware or software flaws, as well as operational weaknesses in technical processes can lead to program corruption.

There are various standards in the industry which allow companies to carry out penetration testing. One of these is Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard. This consists of a globally recognised set of policies and procedures meant to optimise securities of credit, debit as well as cash card transactions. It also protects cardholders from misuse of personal information.

Large companies like IBM have large teams of employees as ethical hackers. Many global firms also offer ethical hacking in the form of a course. Another organisation called as Trustwave Holdings Inc. has its own Ethical Hacking lab which can explore potential vulnerabilities in ATMs, POS devices and different kinds of surveillance systems.