A Beginner’s Guide on How to Become an Ethical Hacker

Are you interested in becoming an ethical hacker but have no experience or limited knowledge in cybersecurity? Don’t worry, our beginner’s guide will help you get started. In this article, we will cover the skills and knowledge required to start a career in cybersecurity and become an ethical hacker.

Firstly, it’s important to understand that a career in cybersecurity has many niches, such as auditing, pentesting, social engineering, digital forensics, and malware detection. However, in this article, we will cover the generic skills that you need before starting your career.

What is hacking? Hacking involves identifying the weaknesses and vulnerabilities in systems and gaining access to them. Ethical hackers have official permission to conduct security assessments of a system, while hackers do it without authorization. There are different types of hackers, including hacktivists, script kiddies, grey hats, black hats, and white hats.

To become an ethical hacker, you need to have programming skills, fundamentals of networking, knowledge of operating systems, and familiarity with different technologies. It’s essential to learn the fundamentals of programming, such as data types, variable manipulation at the OS level, and the use of functions. You should also understand OS level operations on the language you are learning, or alternatively, learn assembly language.

When it comes to coding, the platform you will be working on matters. For web applications, you can code in PHP, ASP, or JPS. For mobile apps, Swift/Objective-C for iOS and Java for Android are suitable options. For software or desktop applications, you can code in C#, C++, or Objective-C.

If you have no background experience, learn the absolute fundamentals of cybersecurity. Here are some resources that will help you learn from scratch:

• Breaking into Information Security: Learning the Ropes 101
• Web Hacking 101

Remember, if you want to learn hacking for the purpose of hacking into someone’s account, it’s not the right approach. But if you have a passion for technology and want to become an expert in computer systems, ethical hacking can be a rewarding career for you. Keep yourself motivated in your learning path, and remember that achieving results takes time. Good luck!