The five different phases of ethical hacking are observation, scanning, gaining access, maintaining access, and covering tracks. Hackers obtain information during observation; during scanning, they look for weaknesses. Exploiting flaws is necessary to gain access, and doing so also maintains control. Finally, removing the evidence of the intrusion is part of concealing tracks, providing ethics throughout the procedure.
1. 5 DIFFERENT PHASES
OF ETHICAL HACKING
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2. OBSERVATION
A survey, often known as information
collection, is the initial stage of ethical
hacking. It entails gathering as much
knowledge on the target system or network
as feasible. Ethical hackers conduct research
on the target company's workers,
infrastructure, and third-party connections.
Open-source intelligence, social engineering
tactics, and technologies such as Nmap and
Shodan assist ethical hackers in gathering
vital information for later phases.
3. SCANNING
The scanning phase begins when the ethical
hacker has obtained a large amount of
information. During this step, you aggressively
probe the target system or network for open
ports, services, or other vulnerabilities. Scanning
technologies such as Nessus and OpenVAS assist
ethical hackers in identifying flaws that may
allow unauthorised access or other malicious
activities.
4. GAINING
ACCESS
Gaining unauthorised access to investigate
the vulnerabilities and weaknesses
discovered during the reconnaissance and
scanning phases is the third phase of ethical
hacking. To get access to a target system or
network, ethical hackers use password
cracking, sniffer, or exploiting weak setups.
5. MAINTAINING ACCESS
The ethical hacker advances to the fourth
phase after successfully breaching a
system or network. The goal here is to
maintain access without being detected.
This phase allows you to investigate the
target system, get more important
information, and elevate privileges. Ethical
hackers use tactics such as backdoors,
rootkits, or malicious software to keep
access while minimising the possibility of
detection by security measures.
6. COVERING TRACKS
Covering tracks is the final stage of ethical
hacking, which entails removing all evidence
of the hacker's presence from the hacked
system or network. Ethical hackers must
conceal their operations in order to avoid legal
repercussions or to allow prospective
malevolent actors to exploit the same
vulnerabilities. This phase consists of
eliminating harmful software, erasing logs, and
returning the machine to its original state.