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Getting ready for a career as an ethical hacker can be tough, but it's possible if you have the right skills. Many new candidates seek cybersecurity roles with entry-level certifications such as CEH and CompTIA Security+. However, do you believe these certifications alone are sufficient to land a job as an ethical hacker?
Not at all!
Earning a certification is a fantastic step forward. Nonetheless, it's crucial to ensure that you've honed the essential ethical hacking skills throughout your training.
If you're aiming to be a job-ready ethical hacker, there are several vital skills you should focus on developing. Let’s take a look!
The ethical hacking skills mentioned above are essential for establishing a thriving career as a White Hat Hacker, or Ethical Hacker. Mastering these skills will enable you to protect organisations from the ever-evolving APT threat landscape.
Let's dive into each of these crucial ethical hacking skills, accompanied by a real-world example from the past.
If you have doubts, check out: What is Ethical Hacking And How Does It Work?
The demand for cybersecurity professionals with AI skills is increasing. The EC Council has launched CEH v13 powered by AI, providing comprehensive training that incorporates AI into ethical hacking. This demonstrates that AI skills are essential for individuals to become in-demand cybersecurity professionals. AI skills in cybersecurity involve:
Remember the following text:
An ethical hacker can use AI skills in various ways, such as:
The combination of ethical hacking and AI capabilities improves security assessments, protecting organisations from advanced threats and adapting to evolving challenges.
According to IBM's 2024 data report, AI models can reduce fraud costs by 90% in specific scenarios. Therefore, obtaining CEH Training is essential to becoming a Certified Ethical Hacker in v13 AI.
Networking skills are one of the crucial ethical hacking skills to become a job-ready professional. Networking Technology skills refer to the following:
Modern networking technologies, including SD-WAN and cloud networking, have transformed how data gets transferred between systems. Understanding networking skills will help in identifying and mitigating vulnerabilities specific to these environments.
Ethical hackers, often referred to as white hat hackers, leverage their networking expertise to assist organisations in pinpointing and addressing vulnerabilities within their networks and systems.
They employ a range of methods to evaluate network security, such as mimicking real-world attacks and conducting penetration tests.Here are several ways ethical hackers utilise networking technology:
Imagine a situation where an ethical hacker can leverage their Networking Technology skills to address a breach in network infrastructure.
The SolarWinds attack in 2020 is a powerful example of what can happen when network vulnerabilities are present.
“Cybercriminals took advantage of flaws in the network infrastructure, gaining access to thousands of organisations and underscoring the urgent demand for skilled professionals to protect these systems.”
Cloud security skills are essential for ethical hackers as more organisations migrate their data to the cloud. Professionals must equip themselves with the ability to secure environments like AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud.
Key cloud security skills for entry-level ethical hackers include:
An ethical hacker can apply their cloud security expertise to spot and address security weaknesses in a company's cloud infrastructure. This process includes:
By using their knowledge, ethical hackers enhance the overall security stance of cloud systems and applications.
A notable example that underscores the importance of cloud security is the Capital One breach in 2019.
“The Capital One Breach exposed over 100 million records because of a misconfigured firewall in a cloud environment. This incident highlights how even minor oversights in cloud security can lead to significant data breaches, affecting millions of individuals and organisations.”
Linux is a free and open-source operating system based on the Linux Kernel. The source code of Linux can be modified and distributed to anyone commercially or non commercially under the GNU General Public License.
The main reason why learn Linux for ethical hackers is its security. Linux is more secure than any other operating system. Although 100 per cent security is not guaranteed for Linux, it has some malware which makes it less vulnerable than any other operating system. Furthermore, it does not require any anti-virus software. Therefore, it is crucial to have Linux skills for hacking.
As an ethical hacker, you can utilise your programming expertise to develop scripts and automation tools for:
With a solid grasp of programming, they can design tailored tools, take advantage of software weaknesses, and gain deeper insights into the code structures, ultimately enhancing their capability to evaluate an organisation's security status.
An Ethical hacker can leverage their programming skills by using powerful tools like Metasploit, a popular penetration testing framework developed in Python.
This versatile tool enables security professionals to automate vulnerability exploitation, simplifying the assessment of system security.
SQL database skills are necessary for creating and managing structured data. NoSQL database skills are important for creating and managing structured, semi-structured, and unstructured data.
While SQL injection remains a common attack vector, knowledge of NoSQL databases and their specific security concerns is increasingly important as their use grows. Many companies are moving to NoSQL architecture (MongoDB, Oracle, etc).
An ethical hacker can utilise NoSQL and SQL database skills to:
Having SQL skills allows an ethical hacker to inspect data and execute queries effectively. NoSQL skills are essential for auditing NoSQL databases, detecting injection attacks, and identifying configuration weaknesses. Mastering both types of databases is crucial for conducting thorough security assessments.
The 2017 Equifax breach, which compromised the sensitive information of 147 million people, resulted from an unpatched SQL database vulnerability. This incident highlights the importance for ethical hackers to be skilled in both traditional SQL security and the nuances of NoSQL security.
IoT (Internet of Things) security skills are crucial for protecting IoT devices and their networks. As organisations incorporate these devices into their infrastructures, they present new attack vectors for hackers.
It’s essential to understand how to secure these devices and their communication protocols to safeguard interconnected systems, as evidenced by instances where critical infrastructure was compromised due to IoT vulnerabilities. If you miss IoT Security Skills, don’t worry you can acquire them by taking an IoT Course.
Reverse engineering aims to speed up the maintenance work by enhancing a system's understandability and generating the requisite documentation for a legacy system.
Here is all you need to get started with an IoT Course
If you are an ethical hacker, you can apply your IoT security expertise by performing vulnerability assessments on various IoT devices and systems. This process involves:
By grasping the specific challenges that IoT environments present, ethical hackers can assist organisations in reducing risks and enhancing their overall security stance. In addition, Ethical Hackers must employ forensic tools to investigate security incidents related to IoT devices.
The 2016 Mirai botnet attack illustrates the vulnerabilities of IoT devices. This attack exploited insecure devices to execute one of history's largest Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks, disrupting major online services and underscoring the urgent need for robust IoT security measures.
Threat intelligence analysis skills involve gathering network information and using that data to identify and mitigate threats to computer networks and systems.
Analysing threats' Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures (TTP) aids in anticipating and defending against emerging threats.
Ethical hackers must remain updated on the latest attack trends and techniques due to the rapidly evolving threat landscape.
An Ethical Hacker can utilise their skills in Threat Intelligence and Analysis by drawing on insights about possible threats and the tactics employed by cybercriminals to shape their security approaches.
In the role of an Ethical Hacker, your responsibilities will include:
Through the simulation of attacks and the application of threat intelligence information, ethical hackers can strengthen defensive strategies and boost overall cybersecurity resilience.
An example of applying Threat Intelligence can be seen in the 2017 WannaCry ransomware attack, where the attacker exploited a known vulnerability in Windows, previously identified and leaked by the NSA. This incident highlights the critical role of proactive threat intelligence in preventing future attacks.
Security automation skills are essential for ethical hackers as they aid in identifying and addressing vulnerabilities. This involves the use of software, tools, and policies to automate repetitive security tasks.
Key tools, such as SIEM (Security Information and Event Management) and SOAR (Security Orchestration, Automation, and Response), are vital for efficiently managing and responding to security events and are in high demand for Tier 1 and Tier 2 analysts.
Problem-solving abilities and analytical skills are essential qualities ethical hackers require. In the Problem-solving skills for ethical hacking, an aspirant may have to learn new approaches to ensure that any security violations are carefully reviewed. This needs loads of tests and an ingenious penchant for discovering new forms of solving the problem.
An Ethical hacker can apply their security automation expertise by:
As an ethical hacker, you can utilise scripting techniques to streamline repetitive tasks in penetration testing and vulnerability assessments, improving both efficiency and precision in spotting potential security risks.
Additionally, automated systems can aid in compliance verification and reporting, simplifying the process for organisations to uphold strong security measures.
For instance, during the 2021 Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack, the absence of automation in detection and response processes exacerbated the incident's severity. Effective automation could have accelerated the identification of the ransomware and minimized its impact, highlighting the crucial role of automation in contemporary cybersecurity.
Digital forensics and incident response are essential skills for every ethical hacker. A solid grasp of incident response enables efficient management and mitigation of security breaches, while forensic skills are crucial for analyzing attack methods.
An Ethical Hacker can apply their incident response and forensic expertise by employing strategies for managing evidence and containing cyber attacks.
An Ethical Hacker Outline:
This teamwork boosts the organisation's capacity to effectively prevent and tackle cyber threats.
For instance, the 2013 Target breach, which compromised the credit card information of over 40 million customers, underscored the need for a strong incident response plan and clearly defined procedures to quickly contain and mitigate breaches.
Cryptography enables the secure transmission of information that is difficult for hackers to interpret, protecting private data from unauthorised access. In today's interconnected world, unethical hackers and spammers can easily intercept data and messages, using them for various malicious purposes.
A strong grasp of modern cryptographic techniques and protocols is essential for ensuring data integrity and confidentiality, particularly in cloud and distributed systems, as emphasized by the CIA triad.
An ethical hacker can apply cryptographic techniques in various ways, such as:
With a solid grasp of cryptography, they can effectively protect data, identify weaknesses, and enhance overall IT security.
The 2013 Snowden revelations exemplified the dangers of weak encryption, leading to significant data leaks. This underscores the necessity for ethical hackers to be proficient in cryptographic practices to protect sensitive information from unauthorised access.
Compliance knowledge is crucial for ethical hackers, enabling them to operate effectively, legally, and ethically while maximising value for their clients.
Familiarity with industry-specific regulations, such as GDPR, HIPAA, and PCI-DSS, ensures that security measures align with legal and regulatory requirements.
Ethical hackers can leverage their compliance knowledge to mitigate risks. The GDPR enforcement actions against companies like Google and British Airways for poor data protection illustrate the importance of adhering to regulations to prevent substantial fines and reputational damage.
You can get compliance awareness and become a white hacker through an Ethical Hacking Preparatory Course in Dubai.
Penetration testing frameworks help ethical hackers organise and conduct simulated cyberattacks to assess a system's ability to withstand real-world threats. Having familiarity and understanding with frameworks like OWASP, NIST, and MITRE ATT&CK provides structured and linear approaches to identify and address vulnerabilities.
Ethical hackers utilise their penetration testing skills, applying the same tactics and tools as cybercriminals, but legally, to identify and mitigate vulnerabilities in systems, applications, or networks.
By simulating cyber attacks, Ethical Hackers help organisations strengthen their defences against real threats.
They frequently use frameworks such as Metasploit and OWASP to identify critical web application security risks and engage in ongoing learning through platforms like TryHackMe to stay current on the latest techniques.
These resources help them focus on prevalent vulnerabilities, enhancing their ability to protect applications and systems from potential threats.
Explore Penetration Testing Courses in Dubai.
With new viruses and APT threats emerging daily, the demand for skilled cybersecurity professionals continually increases. Acquiring ethical hacking skills can help you reach your career goals with competitive pay.
A great way to become an Ethical Hacker is by obtaining relevant certifications, such as Edoxi’s Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) or CompTIA Security+.
Edoxi’s Certified Ethical Hacking (CEH v12) Course focuses on personalised training tailored to your learning level. This program will equip you with essential ethical hacking skills, making you job-ready in cybersecurity.
Now that you know the important skills that an ethical hacker must have to become job-ready. It's time to focus on transforming that knowledge into actionable steps!!!
Also, Check out; How to Become a Certified Ethical Hacker.
Here is the list of other major locations where Edoxi offers CEH Certification Course
CEH Course in Dubai | CEH Course in Qatar | CEH Course in Amsterdam | CEH Course in London |
