What is Ethical Hacking: Definition, Scope, Jobs, Top Salaries

“To beat a hacker, you have to think like one” – Ethical Hacking Council.

In recent years, the rise of cybercrime has made it increasingly crucial for businesses and organisations to protect their networks from malicious attackers. As a result, the practice of ethical hacking has grown in popularity. Ethical hacking involves using the same methods and techniques as malicious hackers, but to identify and address potential security vulnerabilities.

Aspiring for a career in Ethical hacking? Read the article below to know about the future of Ethical hacking, eligibility, courses, syllabus, job profiles, and salaries.

What is Ethical Hacking?

Ethical hacking, also known as white-hat hacking, is an authorised process of bypassing system security to identify potential data breaches and threats within a network. Ethical hacking is the practice wherein the firm that owns the network or the system allows experts in the field of cybersecurity to perform activities that help them test the system’s defences. Thus, unlike hacking, a malicious activity, Ethical Hacking is approved, planned and legal.

Ethical hacking is one of the most effective methods for assessing potential security weaknesses and identifying solutions to enhance network security. Ethical hackers can discover weaknesses that would otherwise go undetected using the same tactics as malicious hackers. This allows organisations to mitigate the risk of being targeted by cyber attackers.

Ethical Hackers undertake tasks to investigate a network or a system to identify weak points that hackers can exploit or destroy. After that, Ethical hackers collect and then analyse information to determine means and ways to strengthen the security of a company’s applications, systems or networks.

Key Concepts of Ethical Hacking

The key concepts of ethical hacking include the following:

• Authorisation and Consent: Ethical hacking must be performed with proper authorisation and consent from the target organisation, while ensuring legal and ethical boundaries are respected.
• Proactive Security Testing: Ethical hacking involves actively testing an organisation's systems, networks, and applications to identify vulnerabilities before malicious hackers can exploit them.
• Responsible Disclosure: Ethical hackers should follow responsible disclosure practices, reporting identified vulnerabilities to the target organisation before making them public.
• No Malicious Intent: Ethical hackers should have no malicious intent. They must aim to improve cybersecurity defences and protect against cyber threats.
• Adherence to Laws and Ethical Guidelines: Ethical hacking strictly adheres to all applicable laws and ethical guidelines, ensuring no harm to the target organisation or its data.
• Focus on Impact and Risk: Ethical hacking should prioritise identifying vulnerabilities that pose the most significant risk to an organisation's security and data.
• Clear Documentation and Reporting: Ethical hackers must thoroughly document and report their findings to the organisation, providing actionable recommendations for improving security.
• Permission-Based Testing: Ethical hacking is conducted only with explicit permission from the organisation, ensuring that testing is limited to authorised systems.
• Maintaining Anonymity: Ethical hackers must maintain anonymity during testing to prevent potential legal or reputational implications.

Eligibility for Ethical Hacker

Below is the eligibility criteria for becoming an ethical hacker -  

Ethical hacking course content

Ethical Hacking: Career Prospects

With the number of cyberattacks increasing globally, businesses are now investing heavily in safeguarding their data and valuable infrastructure. This has led to an increased hiring of ethical hackers to identify security weaknesses and prevent any cyberattacks before they happen.

Demand for Ethical Hackers

• According to the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Security Spending Guide, global security spending is expected to increase by 12.2% year-over-year in 2025, resulting in a growing demand for information security professionals worldwide.
• According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment in the cybersecurity sector is expected to grow by 31% from 2019 to 2029, which is faster than the average for all occupations.
• In India, the demand is expected to rise by more than 77,000 new professionals in the coming years.
• Companies like Google, Wipro, IBM, Infosys, Accenture, Dell, and Reliance regularly hire ethical hackers.

How to Start a Career

• A graduate degree in Computer Science, IT, or related fields is often preferred.
• Certifications like CEH (Certified Ethical Hacker) or similar cybersecurity courses can boost your chances of getting hired.

Top Ethical Hacker Salaries & Job Profiles

Q. What is meant by ethical hacking?

A. Ethical hacking and ethical hacker are terms used to describe hacking performed by a company or individual to help identify potential threats on a computer or network.

Q. What are the three types of hackers?

A. The three types of hackers are the white hat hacker, the grey hat hacker, and the black hat hacker.

Q. Is ethical hacking legal?

A. Ethical hacking is considered legal because the actions are used to increase the security of a computer system.

Q. Where can one learn ethical hacking?

A. Candidates can learn ethical hacking through platforms such as Udemy, Coursera, etc.

Q. Is ethical hacking easy?

A. Ethical hacking is also known as penetration testing, intrusion testing and red teaming. Becoming an ethical hacker isn't an easy task to accomplish. It requires a lot of knowledge, especially when it comes to computer system security, and a lot of experience to have a shot at an ethical hacking job.

Q. Is hacking a career?

A. Yes, it is a good career if you are interested in ethical hacking and the cybersecurity field, but it requires a great knowledge of the whole IT field.

Q. What is the salary of an ethical hacker in India?

A. In India, a certified ethical hacker (fresher) earns an average salary of Rs 3.5 lakh per year which increases with experience cumulatively up to more than 15 lakh per year.

Q. Is Python good for hacking?

A. Ethical hackers often use this dynamic programming language for scripting their on-demand hacking programs on the go.

Q. Do Google hire hackers?

A. Yes, they do hire ethical hackers for “penetration testing” which basically means that the hackers have to try and hack the software made by Google to ensure there are no security flaws.

Q. What is a blue hat hacker?

A. A blue hat hacker is someone outside computer security consulting firms who bug tests a system prior to its launch, looking for exploits so they can be closed.

Read more

New Age IT Career - Ethical Hacking
How to Make Your Career in Ethical Hacking – Course options and job opportunities
Your Career after Ethical Hacking