Introduction To Ethical Hacking
Ethical Hacking, also known as Penetration Testing, is an authorized practice to gain access to unauthorized computer systems, networks, storage, or data. The motive is to find out vulnerabilities within a system that a malicious hacker can use to exploit and steal sensitive information, resulting in a financial loss or being a threat to the system. So, in a way, ethical hacking is a security assessment. The tools and methods used by ethical hackers might be the same as criminal hackers, but the former is given prior authorization. Ethical hackers duplicate potential actions and strategies of malicious hackers. Consequently, ethical hackers report all the vulnerabilities found during testing to the management, make changes to secure vulnerabilities, and defend the system, thus protecting the organization from any cybercrime. We will elaborate on why ethical hacking is legal below
Key Protocols of Ethical Hacking
Irrespective of the circumstances, an ethical hacker has to respect the key protocols of ethical hacking, which involves:
Staying Legal: ‘Is Ethical Hacking Legal?’ is a question many people raise. The essence of ethical hacking is ‘legality.’ Any hacking that goes beyond the sphere of legal practices cannot be called ethical hacking. An ethical hacker has to stay legal in any situation which involves taking proper authorization before carrying out the security assessment.
Defining Scope: Making sure that all the activities of ethical hacking stay within the organization’s boundaries and cyber laws.
Reporting Vulnerabilities: It is the duty of an ethical hacker to report all the vulnerabilities found during penetration testing and provide remediation advice and services to resolve potential elements for a data breach.
Respect data sensitivity: An ethical hacker may stumble on sensitive information during authorized access to gain unauthorized access. However, the ethical hacker has to agree to non-disclosure agreements alongside other terms of the organization so as not to disclose any information.
Types of Hackers
Though the methods and tools for almost all hackers remain the same, there are still different types of hackers based on their intent behind the hacking.
White Hat Hackers:
Ethical Hackers are also called White Hat Hackers. They carry out hacking activities with the intention of security assessment and defense of the system against any criminal breach. White hat hackers penetrate the system to find vulnerability points and fix them to ensure safety. Since they are permitted to do so, all such activities are legal.
Black Hat Hackers:
Black Hat Hackers or criminal/malicious hackers penetrate systems with the intent to exploit the system, steal sensitive information, and damage the organization financially or by other means. Unlike white hat hackers, black hat hackers penetrate systems without approval for selfish monetary or exploitation intent, marking such hacking as illegal.
Grey Hat Hackers:
Grey Hat Hackers are a mix of ethical hackers and criminal hackers. The intent is neither to provide security and safety nor to exploit or damage any organization. Such hackers hack merely for fun and without any prior authorization.
The need for Ethical Hacking
A hacking attempt every 39 seconds targets one in three Americans every year. There was an increase of 140% in large-scale DDoS attacks during the last quarter of 2016. Similarly, due to international conflicts and terrorism, cybercriminals are more active now than ever before. These cybercriminals are funded to breach system securities resulting in a threat to national security or financial losses to major organizations in a country. Malicious hackers carry out these illegal activities for whatever reason. Consequently, there is a considerable spike in the number of cybercrimes worldwide, and it is time for organizations to ensure their safety, take preventive measures, and use various security assessments to resolve vulnerabilities to avoid being a victim of the malicious hacker.
Consequently, organizations need to hire ethical hackers for security purposes. An ethical hacker discovers all the vulnerabilities from the point of view of a potential malicious hacker and resolves them, thus, creating a secure network preventing security breaches. It is paramount to ensure the trust of an organization’s customers, investors, and other stakeholders. Ethical hackers ensure that to an extent. Similarly, ethical hackers defend national security internationally by protecting the data from falling into the wrong hands.
This answers the question ‘Is Ethical Hacking Legal?’ Since it is being done as a means of self-defense, self-security, and protection, through prior approval by a person of authority, and by no means aims to perform any illegal activity, it is safe to say that unambiguously, ethical hacking is legal.
What Exactly do Ethical Hackers do?
The goals of ethical hacking are not achieved instantaneously. The process takes place in phases. Initially, there is a phase of reconnaissance whereby the white hat hacker gathers information according to the goals of the penetration test. Through this footprinting, data and information are collected from:
- Vulnerabilities
- TCP services
- UDP services
- Host of a network
- Specific IP addresses
Afterward, a deep scan is performed to determine the target’s responses to intrusion. The phase includes:
- Port Scanning
- Vulnerability Scanning
- Network Scanning
In the third phase, the authorized hacker tries to gain unauthorized access to the system, uncovering vulnerabilities and mimicking what a malicious hacker could potentially do. The primary tool typically used by both ethical and malicious hackers in this regard is ‘Metasploit.’ Once access is acquired, it becomes easier to exploit the organization.
Then the ethical hacker maintains access to check if the vulnerability could be used to maintain access by a malicious hacker. During a cyberattack, the hacker’s primary aim is to keep access until their malicious activities are completed without anyone noticing.
Lastly, ethical hackers clear their tracks to avoid getting caught. They do so by deleting cache and erasing digital footprints. Using reverse HTTP Shells also helps, while the Internet Control Message Protocol Tunnels are also helpful in this regard. Finally, the WAF settings are configured to secure the system, and the test is rerun.
Through this, the ethical hacker seals entry points and ensures the organization’s safety.
Types of Ethical Hacking
In today’s advanced technology, anything from a simple computer to huge organizations and blockchains can be hacked. To protect the system from such a cyberattack, an ethical hacker has to put himself in the point of view of the malicious hacker and do things with the same tools and strategies the latter would potentially do.
For that, an ethical hacker has to consider the different aspects of an organization’s framework. Saying that there are different types of ethical hacking which are:
- Social Engineering
- System Hacking
- Hacking wireless networks
- Web application hacking
- Web server hacking
In order to carry out all these functions, it is necessary for an ethical hacker to have a thorough grasp of computer skills. Often, ethical hackers become subject matter experts (SMEs) in any particular domain within ethical hacking. However, any ethical hacker must have the following fundamental skills:
- Proficiency in various operating systems
- Complete understanding of multiple facets of information security
- Expertise in scripting languages
- Knowledge of networking
- Knowledge of databases
- Ability to efficiently use different hacking tools
- Understanding of servers and search engines
These are not achieved instantaneously, and an ethical hacker requires different certifications to be employed in organizations. These certifications include:
- SANS GIAC
- Offensive Security Certified Professional (OSCP) Certification
- CompTIA Security +
- Cisco’s CCNA Security … and many more
Is Ethical Hacking Legal?
The simple answer to the question ‘Is Ethical Hacking Legal?’ is undoubtedly ‘Yes.’ The nature and the objective of ethical hacking qualify it as a legal practice. Laws are different and are subjective to the country they are exercised in. However, typically, it is a legal obligation to acquire consent or prior authorization before carrying out such a practice. Therefore, a regulated relationship between the contractor and the client ensures confidentiality. Business information systems hold sensitive information highly valuable to the business, and trust and confidentiality are crucial.
It is mandatory that all the legal aspects of ethical hacking are discussed and determined before penetration testing. This allows the white hats to conduct security assessments without any interruptions and fear of doing something illegal. For that, both the parties sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) to keep confidentiality. NDA is a legal document and determines the legality of the security assessments.
Limited Scope:
Contrary to malicious hacking, ethical hacking is not free hacking. Every security assessment is performed for a specific purpose and goal. The goal is determined through the source document signed by both parties under the NDA. If an ethical hacker exceeds the scope set out, it might come under the sphere of illegality. Similarly, the ethical hacker must always follow the methodology and procedures agreed to and approved. Such a practice ensures that the security assessment remains legal, and the ethical hacker must follow it.
What if the white hats detect something more?
Often, during penetration testing, an ethical hacker might reach the point specified in the agreement. However, sometimes the path opens to further vulnerabilities and potential entry points. The best the ethical hacker can do is to stop the assessment and inform the concerned authorities about it. If they approve further and deeper testing, the ethical hacker may carry that out. Else, white hats are legally bound not to go any further as that will be against the contract signed beforehand.
Ethical hackers must uphold ethics.
As the name indicates, ethical hacking is fundamentally based on ethics. Ethics is more than mere respect for the law. It is primarily the attitude of the personality of the cyber security service provider in this regard. A dilemma arises if the security assessment has reached the specified goal and there are still more vulnerabilities. Here, not legally, but the ethical hacker is ethically bound to communicate the issue with the concerned authorities despite not having a contract. That is because the general motive of ethical hacking is to ensure the system’s safety.
Article 28 of GDPR
Article 28 of the General Data Protection Regulation lays down the contents of such contracts between the client and the contractor/ethical hacker. According to the regulation, the mutually signed contract must include the purpose, duties, and data types.
Penetration testing often results in the acquisition of personal data, and the handling of the data must be defined explicitly in the contract. Such include clauses about data control, who will be the data administrator, what the ethical hacker should do with the data, and such. The ethical hacker is legally obliged to protect the client’s data per the regulations.
Lawyer Janez Tekavc states that the primary motive for penetration testing is to gain access to a specific folder, subfolder, application, or file and not the contents within them.
Copyright issues
White hats have to face copyrights pertaining to the security analysis of the source code. If the ethical hacker has been given the security assessment task in the contract, he may only test and scan the code. In any circumstances, the ethical hacker cannot process the code, nor can he tamper with it or keep it with him. Such an action would be unauthorized and be deemed illegal. Consequently, it might become problematic for the ethical hacker in terms of security, copyrights, and warranty claims.
Responsibility
Before penetration testing, the client’s responsibility is clearly to define the project, its scope, and specific goals. Mutual agreement among both parties is necessary about the tools and methodologies that might and should be used. If the contents of the contract are precise and the contractor follows it accordingly, then there is no cause for any concern.
However, if the ethical hacker predicts a potentially dire outcome, it is his duty to inform the client and not go any further until permitted to do so. If the client understands and accepts the risk, the security assessment or the proceedings of the ethical hacking may continue.
Ethical Hacking in practice
There is no ambiguity in the legality of ethical hacking. Indeed, it is legal, and organizations and even countries at the international level practice it for security and defense purposes. Many organizations have implemented a bounty system to discover any vulnerabilities in their systems. A prime example is Facebook, which has given more than $300,000 to friendly hackers to penetrate the system or find bugs within it.
Such a practice increases the organization’s security by making it aware of potential entry points and mitigating vulnerabilities.
Why is Ethical Hacking Legal?
Having answered ‘Is ethical hacking legal?’ now the question under consideration is ‘Why is ethical hacking legal?’. There are three primary reasons that lead to the legality of ethical hacking. These include:
To identify and provide remediation services.
Practically, any system connected to the internet can be hacked. Malicious hackers try their utmost to find vulnerabilities in the system and exploit them for selfish reasons, creating chaos within an organization. The chances of getting unethically hacked are far much less if the company itself finds the vulnerabilities before the malicious hacker. Doing so enables the organization to seal any potential security loophole. For that, the company has to legally grant authorization to a white hat hacker for security purposes.
To aid in the development.
A company can’t know the integrity and the security of the software they are developing until they put them under penetration testing. Ethical hackers carry out security assessments to check whether the software is safe to use and of top-notch quality or not. Therefore, the legal nature of ethical hacking can be logically understood by the notion that ethical hackers ensure the software is safe to use before it is deployed to the general public.
To ensure regulatory compliance.
Regulatory authorities have taken a firm stance about the organization’s responsibilities for data breaches. The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) lays explicit penalties for failing to comply with the regulations. For that purpose, organizations legally hire ethical hackers.
Conclusion
With every passing day, the need for ethical hackers is increasing at an exponential rate. Nations need ethical hackers to defend their security in the cyber world and protect sensitive data. Organizations need ethical hackers for security and protection purposes as well.
The limited scope, restraints, and intent behind hacking differentiate a malicious hacker from an ethical hacker.
Ethical hacking uses the same methodologies and tools as malicious hacking and is done for a lawful purpose. Through ethical hacking, a corporate ensures its security and seals any vulnerability that a malicious hacker may exploit to damage the corporate. Certainly, ethical hacking is legal and must be done under the guidelines and regulations given by GDPR to ensure thorough legality. Consequently, to comply with the rules, an organization has to grant authorization to ethical hackers/white hat hackers legally. These must have the required skills and certifications from approved sources and must follow the scope laid down in the contract.