Key Points
- Ethical hackers use the same methods as malicious hackers to help companies find and patch vulnerabilities, preventing future exploitation.
- Ethical hackers are valuable members of a security team and bring unique insights to their cybersecurity posture.
- Hiring an ethical hacker can help strengthen a company’s security, but adding identity-based security further reduces attack surfaces.
Most people think of hackers as bad guys who break into networks or system they shouldn’t have access to. They hack systems to steal information, shut down critical infrastructure, introduce malware, or otherwise wreak havoc on unsuspecting businesses or individuals.
While this may be true some of the time, not every hacker has bad intentions. Some are contracted or hired by companies and given permission to attempt to break into their systems. These are known as ethical hackers, and they play a critical role in protecting networks from their not-so-ethical counterparts.
In this article, we’ll discuss what ethical hacking is, how it works, and why companies may want an ethical hacker on their payroll.
What is ethical hacking?
Ethical hacking, or white hat hacking, is the legal, authorized use of hacking techniques by friendly parties to attempt access to networks, systems, or data with the intent of searching for and correcting security vulnerabilities. Rather than exploiting vulnerabilities, ethical hackers expose weak spots so organizations can address them, improving system security.
Unlike malicious hacking, ethical hacking is authorized and legal. Organizations place a high level of trust in companies and individuals they hire to perform ethical hacking services, and ethical hackers adhere to a stringent code of professional ethics.
What is an ethical hacker?
An ethical hacker, or white hat hacker, is a cybersecurity professional who uses the same skills and tools as a cybercriminal. Companies often employ or contract ethical hackers to test their systems for weaknesses. The ethical hacker conducts tests to break through security measures. After testing is complete, they give the company a detailed report of their findings. Then, depending on the contract, the company may harden system security themselves, or the ethical hacker may assist them.
Ultimately, the purpose of hiring an ethical hacker is to strengthen defenses against malicious hackers with bad intentions.
Ethical hackers may have an ethical hacking certification, a background working in cybersecurity, or may be self-taught through various courses and hands-on practice. Many ethical hackers hold certifications such as CEH, OSCP, GPEN, or CISSP with penetration testing specialization. They commit to a strict code of ethics and use their skills to improve the company’s security, never taking advantage of any weaknesses they find.
Ethical hackers vs. malicious hackers
Ethical hackers and malicious hackers may use the same skillsets and tools, but they’re completely different in practice. There’s also a third type of hacker that isn’t talked about as frequently, known as a gray hat hacker.
Here’s a table comparing the three types of hackers:
| Category | White hat (ethical hacker) | Gray hat hacker | Black hat (malicious hacker) |
| Permission to hack | Has explicit authorization from the system owner | Does not have permission | Does not have permission |
| Primary intent | Improve security for the organization | Curiosity, recognition, or perceived public good | Personal gain, disruption, or harm |
| Typical activities | Tests systems, identifies vulnerabilities, provides remediation guidance | Finds vulnerabilities without authorization, may notify owners | Exploits vulnerabilities, steals data or funds, disrupts operations |
| Handling of discovered information | Shares findings only with the hiring organization | Often reports issues, but may request payment | Publicly exposes, sells, or weaponizes stolen information |
| Legal and ethical standing | Legal and ethical | Ethically ambiguous and legally risky | Illegal and unethical |
What are the phases of ethical hacking?
There are 5 steps ethical hackers take when they’re working with a company. During each phase, the ethical hacker carefully documents their actions so they can make a comprehensive report for the company.
- Reconnaissance: The first phase is information gathering. The hacker collects as much data as possible about the target environment, including information about the network, host, and people involved in the system. Passive recon includes collecting publicly available information from social media platforms or websites, while active recon includes actively probing the target with a tool like Nmap.
- Scanning: Next, the ethical hacker scans to search for open ports, live systems, and vulnerable services in the system. They use tools like Nmap, Nessus, or OpenVAS to look for open ports and potential access points they can exploit later.
- Gaining access: Now that the hacker has discovered weak points, they attempt to exploit them to gain access. The ethical hacker will use the same techniques as a malicious hacker, such as phishing, injection attacks, session hijacking, and password cracking.
- Maintaining access: Once inside, they mimic steps malicious hackers may take to maintain access without being detected. These steps could include simulating persistence techniques, such as creating test backdoors or demonstrating how malware could be used, and privilege escalation to gain greater access — all without detection by the company’s existing security measures.
- Clearing tracks and reporting: After their objectives are complete, ethical hackers clean up their tracks. They close backdoors, remove any files they’ve added, uninstall tools, and remove every trace of their presence from the system. Then, they report their findings and recommendations back to the company.
After suggesting changes to the company, an ethical hacker may assist with implementation, using their expertise to ensure any weaknesses are hardened before completing the job.
What are the benefits of ethical hacking?
Most importantly, ethical hacking lets companies see how their security holds up in real-world scenarios, testing it against the same tools and techniques malicious hackers may use. If the ethical hacker exposes any vulnerabilities, the company has the chance to correct them before a malicious hacker finds and exploits them.
The independent expertise of an ethical hacker gives companies an outside, objective opinion of their security and improves awareness of their cybersecurity position. Finding and patching vulnerabilities protects companies from the serious risks and costs associated with having their system hacked, including:
- Protecting personnel information and customer personal data.
- Protecting sensitive company information, including banking information, trade secrets, or other information.
- Ensuring compliance with regulations like HIPAA, ISO, SOC 2, and others.
- Reducing the high costs associated with a data breach, often in the millions of dollars.
The company’s internal staff works hard to keep security strong, but the shifting landscape in cybersecurity means hackers are constantly developing new tools and methods. An ethical hacker can help companies keep their defenses impenetrable even against the latest attack methods.
Despite the benefits, ethical hacking alone isn’t enough to keep malicious attackers out.
Reducing attack surface beyond ethical hacking
Ethical hacking complements modern security controls, but it can’t replace them completely. That’s because even the best ethical hacker can’t protect companies from their weakest cybersecurity link: people.
Humans introduce variables like using weak passwords, falling for phishing scams, or granting excessive permissions that eventually compromise credentials. Once exploited, these failures practically open the front door and let criminals walk right in.
Over the past several years, we’ve seen an increase in cybercriminals using identity-based attacks to log in rather than breaking in with traditional hacking methods. Identity-based attacks let attackers bypass defenses more easily. They also allow them to move laterally while presenting as an authorized user.
This is where modern, proactive security strategies complement ethical hacking by shrinking the attack surface at the identity layer. Strong authentication security, such as passwordless methods and certificate-based access powered by Dynamic PKI, can automate issuance, renewal, and revocation based on real-time risk signals. These approaches:
- Eliminate shared secrets and phishable credentials.
- Tie access to verified device posture, user context, and real-time risk signals.
- Add layers of cryptographic verification that prevent implicit trust and limit lateral movement even if a credential is compromised.
By implementing identity-based security, organizations can significantly reduce exploitable paths. This hardens network security defenses and also limits the blast radius of any successful exploit, turning what could be a catastrophic breach into a contained incident.
If you’re looking to strengthen your network’s identity layer, solutions like the SecureW2 Cloud RADIUS can help deliver passwordless, certificate-backed access with seamless integration.
Contact us to find out how you can reduce your attack surface and stay ahead of evolving threats.
