Ethical hacking is a method I've used to test website and application security by simulating attacks, and it serves the crucial purpose of identifying and rectifying vulnerabilities before malicious actors can exploit them. Whether provided as a free service or part of a paid contract, it's indispensable for companies and individuals to safeguard their accounts.
Having experienced rapid growth in this profession, I can attest to its demand. To kickstart your ethical hacking journey, first, decide where you'd like to specialize. Numerous options exist, with varying levels of effort involved. Now, let's delve into some of the best ethical hacking websites and places where beginners can initiate their journey.
Ethical Hacking - An Understanding
Ethical hacking tests a system, network, or computer for security holes and vulnerabilities. To do this, one must first understand how a hacker works, how they think, and attack. Ethical hacking is also known as penetration testing, white-hat hacking (or white hat hackers), or vulnerability assessment/testing (VAT). CEH V12 certification courses are required to succeed in the field.
Hackers are very intelligent people who know how to find their way around computers and systems to access information that is not theirs. They use this information for criminal purposes or to expose security flaws in the system. People who want to become successful ethical hackers must take CEH-certified ethical hacker practice exams.
A good ethical hacker will reverse-engineer software programs, identify potential problems, and work with developers to fix these problems before they become actual security threats. A good ethical hacker also knows how to protect themselves from hackers who may want to steal their identities or other sensitive data about them.
Ethical hacking is often confused with cybercrime, but there are differences between the two. Cybercriminals seek out vulnerable systems to gain access to personal information such as credit card numbers, bank account details, and passwords. Ethical hackers try to find vulnerabilities and fix them before they become a problem for anyone else.
What is the Importance of Practicing Ethical Hacking?
To develop any type of skill, practice is a must! Thus, you need to practice your ethical hacking skills to achieve proficiency, which makes you eligible for real-life operations.
However, you need to practice ethical hacking in lab environments (technically one of the best places to practice ethical hacking) to avoid real-life implications. This can be done in a cloud or home-based lab where you can practice different hacking techniques without compromising infrastructure or real data.
Here are some reasons why you should consider practicing ethical hacking in these controlled environments:
Provides a Safe Learning Environment
While learning a new skill, it is quite natural to make mistakes. Thus, while mastering your ethical hacking skills, it's best that you exercise them in lab environments. There, even if you make mistakes while executing a particular hacking method, there will be no detrimental consequences.
Additionally, you can practice a scenario as many times as you need. This helps you identify your mistakes, understand how you can correct them, and take your skills to the next level.
Helps You Try Out Various Hacking Tools
In ethical hacking, there is a wide array of tools and techniques which you can use to execute an attack. Ethical hacking labs can enable you to try out all of them, note their effects, and understand which technique is suitable based on a given scenario.
Facilitates Overall Skill Development
When performing ethical hacking operations, you need to locate and take advantage of system flaws. As you keep practicing in lab environments, your expertise in identifying these security loopholes increases, thus enhancing your efficiency as an ethical hacker.
What Are Ethical Hacking Labs?
Ethical hacking labs are controlled environments where you can simulate real-world situations and practice your hacking skills. Frankly speaking, these are the best places to practice ethical hacking. They usually come with pre-configured networks, applications, and operating systems, enabling you to perform several types of attacks like vulnerability assessment, penetration testing, password cracking, etc.
The best thing about these ethical hacking labs is that they are separated from your main operating system. Thus, they are highly secure customizable, and provide a safe and legal environment for you to practice your hacking skills.
Now, you can build ethical hacking labs at home using virtual machines (VMs), unpatched operating systems, and vulnerable VMs. Additionally, you can go for cloud-based labs. No setup is required in this regard, and you can start practicing by just opening an account.
Also, they allow you to practice in diverse scenarios, enabling you to get acquainted with the latest hacking techniques and cyber threats. Furthermore, as these labs are cloud-based, you can access them from anywhere, enabling you to learn at your convenience, thus making these places one of the best ethical hacking learning websites.
Places to Practice Ethical Hacking
There are several reasons you might want to practice your ethical hacking skills. First, as a professional hacker or ethical hacker, you need to understand the various types of attacks. This can get achieved through practice and hands-on training. Here are some places where you can practice ethical hacking:
PortSwigger's Web Security Academy Labs
This is the place to start for anyone who wants to learn about web hacking. The Web Security Academy is a free online course taught by Burp Suite. The course covers everything from basic ethical hacking practice tests to advanced techniques like fuzzing and exploiting vulnerabilities in web applications. The first module of the course walks students through the basics of setting up their lab environment so they can practice on their computers or in their cloud service provider (CSP). The website also has links to other resources to help you start ethical hacking.
HackTheBox
This is where you can practice hacking on different virtual machines. HackTheBox is one of the most popular ethical hacking websites. It offers a wide range of challenges designed to help you learn about various security concepts and techniques. The challenges range from simple to very difficult, so it's essential to start with the easier ones and then move on to more advanced ones as you gain experience.
PentesterLab
This is one of the best platforms for hacking online practice. The platform offers courses on web application hacking, penetration testing, network security, reverse engineering, and more. Their courses are a little pricey, but they are well worth it. The courses are designed in such a way that they cover all aspects of ethical hacking, from basic to advanced levels. The platform also provides certification programs for different levels of expertise in ethical hacking. Some tests require more advanced knowledge, but they're not common.
HackThisSite
This site provides vulnerable systems to test your skills on. It also hosts an entire community to learn about IT security and share information about everything from penetration testing tools to ethical hacking techniques. The system is split into different levels, with each level having a different difficulty level and many challenges. The levels range from easy to advance, so it's great for beginners and experts alike! HackThisSite has an entire community behind it, so you can learn more about other people's experiences and ask questions if needed. So, try to practice ethical hacking online on this site.
HellBound Hackers
HellBound Hackers, is an online community that brings together hackers from around the world who love sharing their knowledge with others through tutorials, guides, and forums. The website focuses on teaching people how to protect themselves against hackers rather than how to use hacking tools and techniques themselves. It offers great resources for beginners and those who want to learn advanced hacking techniques like exploiting mobile devices and networks using Wi-Fi-related vulnerabilities like KRACK or BlueBorne attacks (which affect Android devices).
Websites to Practice Ethical Hacking
The best way to learn ethical hacking is through practice. If you want to learn how to hack, you need to take cyber security classes online. In addition, many websites offer ethical hacking challenges where users can test their skills and earn badges by completing various challenges.
VulnHub
VulnHub is a community for hosting and learning about security vulnerabilities. It's a great place to learn about web application security and common vulnerabilities. Also, you can check the heath adams ethical hacking course for a better understanding. The website hosts virtual machines with different vulnerabilities that can be accessed through SSH. When you find a vulnerability, you can report it to the VulnHub team so they can fix it. Once the vulnerability has been fixed, you get points based on how severe the vulnerability was.
TryHackMe
TryHackMe is another website where users can hack into vulnerable machines using their tools and techniques. The site lets users set up their servers and invite others to try and break into them using exploits they've found or developed themselves. This allows users to learn how real-world systems respond under attack while also allowing them to hone their skills by trying their hand at increasingly complex challenges over time as they become more comfortable with ethical hacking.
Juice Shop
OWASP Juice Shop is a game that replicates an e-commerce site with several security issues. Visitors can hone their cyber capabilities by attacking flaws in a website that is very similar to the real one. Gamers can also exercise their bug-finding abilities since Juice Shop does not provide difficulties in a heading-wise order but rather replicates them on an e-commerce site.
Security Shepherd
This OWASP fragile initiative focuses on web app and smartphone app flaws. The program is available for download on GitHub and can be installed directly on your computer. Skilled programmers can then work on various ethical hacker certification practice test tasks while improving their expertise. Users can also obtain help from hints if they get trapped. The tasks are centered on understanding the top ten OWASP problems and other frequent flaws. This platform allows users to take many different courses based on their expertise, from beginner to advanced levels. This is a reputable, ethical hacking practice website rapidly growing in popularity.
Defend the Web
Defend the Web is another great website that offers free courses on ethical hacking and penetration testing. The courses are divided into web app security, mobile app security, and information security management system (ISMS). You can also check out their blog, where they post articles related to cybersecurity news, tools, and tutorials. The site also features an impressive list of tools that can be used by hackers and security professionals alike, including Metasploit, Nmap, and Aircrack-ng.
OverTheWire
OverTheWire is a website that you can use to learn various hacking techniques and tools. The site currently has over 1,300 challenges available for users of all levels and interests. Many of the challenges teach basic security concepts such as encryption and authorization mechanisms. Others are more advanced and require an understanding of common exploits used by hackers. You can also play CTF games and compete against other players in real-time competitions. It's free to use, but you can pay for premium features such as access to private forums and better performance on certain challenges.
Game of Hacks
This website offers challenges in various categories like cryptanalysis, reverse engineering, forensics, web security, etc. You must solve problems in each category and earn points based on the difficulty level of the challenge. You also get a rank depending on your performance in each challenge. Once you complete all the challenges at a particular level, you are promoted to the next rank, and if you fail in any challenge, you'll be demoted to the previous rank.
CTFlearn
CTFlearn is an online platform that provides users with various hacking challenges to help them learn the skills necessary to become an IT security professional. The site has many different categories, including cryptography, malware analysis, network security, web application security, etc. In addition, users earn points as they complete an ethical hacker certification practice test, which can be redeemed for certificates or badges from many different colleges and universities. The interface is user-friendly, and it has a large community where you can learn from other users.
Root Me
Root Me is another free platform that allows users to learn how to hack into systems by completing challenges. There are currently over 100 challenges available on the site that cover several different topics like networking protocols (PPTP), mobile devices (Android), operating systems (Linux), and more. Each challenge has its own set of instructions, so you'll know exactly what needs to be done to complete it. This site provides an online learning environment for cyber defenders, who will use their skills to protect against attacks on their systems.
BodgeIt Store
BodgeIt Store is one of the best websites to practice ethical hacking. It contains a wide range of tutorials and articles on ethical hacking, which will help you learn the basics of penetration testing, web security, etc. In addition, it includes multiple courses on ethical hacking, networking, and much more.
HackerRank
HackerRank is a platform where you can solve coding challenges to improve your programming skills and get rewarded with certificates if you solve all the problems correctly within the time limit. The platform has over 1 million developers solving coding challenges every day to improve their skill sets in different areas such as algorithms, data structures, etc. It is one of the best platforms for practicing ethical hacking online, free of cost!
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Conclusions
I've come across numerous dedicated websites for ethical hacking throughout my career. These platforms offer valuable insights into the hacking world, and you can even find certified ethical hacker practice tests, which I found particularly beneficial. These resources enhance your knowledge and provide hands-on experience in penetration testing. I encourage readers to try out KnowledgeHut's CEH V12 certification to enhance their hacking knowledge.
It's crucial to understand that ethical hacking, unlike its illegal counterpart, operates within the bounds of the law. Unethical hackers misuse similar techniques for illegal activities like fraud theft of financial data, passwords, and personal information, such as social security numbers. The key distinction between ethical hacking and its illegal counterpart is obtaining permission. Ethical hackers, myself included, only access systems and networks with explicit authorization from the system's owner or operator, ensuring the legality and ethics of our actions.
