Yes. Many people have non-technical backgrounds and enter the field. If you have the courage to do it, you too can become an ethical hacker.
Before learning to hack, it is very important to know what is hacking.
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What is Ethical Hacking
The term ‘hacking’ has very negative connotations, but that's only until the role of an ethical hacker is fully understood. Ethical hackers are the good guys of the hacking world, the ones who wear the "white hat". So what does the role of an ethical hacker entail? Instead of using their advanced computer knowledge for nefarious activities, ethical hackers identify weaknesses in data computer security for businesses and organizations across the globe, to protect them from hackers with less honest motives.
How to start your journey in Ethical Hacking
To become a good hacker you need to start learning how a computer works rather than how to hack into a system. You need to start with basic programming and scripting, learn it well and understand the possibilities, then move on to HTTP servers such as Apache and HTTP by itself, learn how servers handle a request, how the message goes from one side to another, how is the security stuff implemented, where are the passwords stored, can it be read. Starting there is a very long journey to becoming the next best hacker, you slowly learn to think like a computer and understand the system even better. The more you understand how security is implemented and what are its weaknesses.
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Some steps that will help you to become an Ethical Hacker
1. Learn the Art of Being Anonymous
The most important step for ethical hacking is to learn how to be anonymous and hide your identity online so that there is no trace left and none can backtrace you. Often an ethical hacker might not know who else is in the same network, and if a Black hat hacker figures out that there is someone else in the network, they might try to hack their system. Thus, anonymity is vital for ethical hackers as well. Using Anonsurf, Proxychains, and MacChanger are the three most promising ways to safeguard your identity.
2. LINUX
Every hacker should spend some time learning the Linux operating system (OS). Linux is an open-source operating system that servers of all types can use, including website servers. This makes Linux a popular target for malicious (black hat) hackers. Thus, ethical hackers should become familiar with the workings of Linux and Linux-based servers. In your career as a hacker, many of the companies that you work with will be using Linux.
Linux is also the favorite operating system for hackers because of its open-source nature and the number of hacking tools that run on it. One of the most popular hacking operating systems is Kali Linux a specially-tuned Linux operating system for hackers. It contains a large number of pre-installed and pre-configured hacking tools that you can leverage.
While Windows OS is less popular in the hacker community, you may consider learning Windows as you advance in your hacking skills. Many of the world’s largest organizations run on Windows and need cybersecurity experts with Windows OS experience.
3. Add Secret Writing to your Skill Set
Cryptography or secret writing is an important asset for an ethical hacker. The art of encryption and decryption is a must in hacking. Encryption finds usage in several aspects of information security, such as authentication, data integrity, confidentiality, and more. Valuable information is always encrypted on a network, such as passwords. A hacker must learn how to identify the encryption and break it.
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4. Cryptography
Cryptography describes the process of converting a readable piece of data (such as text or numerical data) into a non-readable format to send it between devices or networks without a third party being able to understand it even if they manage to read it.
It’s important for hackers to understand different encryption methods and learn their weaknesses in order to test networks and communication channels and secure them from black hat hackers.
This is important not just to combat malicious hackers but also to prevent information from being leaked.
5. Experiment and Practice Ace Hacking
Practicing and experimenting are the keys to success in the field of hacking. Ethical hackers need to practice the learned concepts in various environments and scenarios. Test various attacks, tools, and more.
6. Attend Discussions and Meet Expert Hackers
Make a community or join forums for discussions with other hackers worldwide to exchange and share knowledge and work together. There are several communities on Discord, Facebook, Telegram, and other platforms.
7. Stay Updated
Once you are thorough with the topics covered so far, dive deep into the hacking concept and learn topics Stay updated on the latest security changes in the system and the latest tools and ways for hacking and securing a system.
We have also created our course “Hacking Like Watchdogs” where you can learn complete step-by-step hacking from scratch to advance.
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