THE ART OF HACKING

Course details

Introduction

The book discusses the skills and arts used by hackers during hacking operations on several levels, including the beginner level and the professional level.

The book presents the basic principles of penetration testing science, in addition to the writer's experiences on the ground

What is a hacker?

A hacker is an individual who uses computer, networking or other skills to overcome a technical problem. The term also may refer to anyone who uses their abilities to gain unauthorized access to systems or networks in order to commit crimes. A hacker may, for example, steal information to hurt people via identity theft or bring down a system and, often, hold it hostage in order to collect a ransom.

How does hacking work?

Hackers use technical skills to exploit cybersecurity defenses. Ethical hackers test for cybersecurity vulnerabilities and may take up hacking as a profession -- for example, a penetration tester (pen tester) -- or as a hobby. The end goal is often to gain unauthorized access to computers, networks, computing systems, mobile devices or internet of things systems. Many professional hackers use their skills to determine security holes in enterprise systems and then advise where companies should boost their security defenses to keep threat actors out.

Criminal hackers, who sometimes lack technical skills, often use scripts and other specifically designed software programs to break into corporate networks. This software may manipulate network data to gather intelligence about the workings of the target system. These scripts can be found posted on the internet for anyone, usually entry-level hackers, to use. Hackers with limited skills are sometimes called script kiddies, referring to their need to use malicious scripts and their inability to create their own code. Advanced malicious hackers might study these scripts and then modify them to develop new methods.