Cybersecurity & Ethical hacking and have been key in making sure that our data online is secure, users are authenticated & your data and your privacy concerns are all kept safe when your data is out there online. But the question right now to ask is whether there is a difference between cybersecurity and ethical hacking, if yes what is the difference? Whether you are a business owner or an individual who uses the internet regularly it is important that you understand these terms so that you can take the necessary precautions to protect yourself and your data. In this article, we’re going to shed a light on these two security niches.
Now without further ado let’s take a quick look at the agenda we’ll start off by taking a quick understanding of what is cybersecurity. After understanding that we can take another quick introduction to find out and understand what ethical hacking means to us as well afterward. We will consider numerous points and have an in-depth comparison between ethical hacking and cyber security. To further understand the difference between cyber security and ethical hacking and which one’s better for you, we will also look at what role you can expect to play as an ethical hacker or cyber security professional. Let’s Dig in.
What’s Ethical Hacking?
The term hacking might lead you to think that it is something illegal something which is not supposed to be done unauthorized. Although seems fair, allow us to look at another side of the coin as ethical hacking involves White Hat hackers trained to test a system’s integrity & find all the flaws that could lead to a potential security breach.
“Ethical hacking is a part of cybersecurity and can be defined as the process of testing the system against all possible security breaches and solving any vulnerabilities in the system before any malicious attack even happens.”
Hacking is illegal but ethical hacking is the authorized practice of bypassing system security to identify any potential data threat. Ethical hackers try to examine the systems to pinpoint the weak points in that system that malicious hackers can exploit. Ethical hackers are also referred to as White hat hackers as their work involves the same as Black Hat hackers but ethical hackers don’t intend to harm anyone through their actions but only protect their systems and test the company’s security methodologies.
Suppose that your website or application contains sensitive data about your customers, malicious hackers can misuse this data for wrongful purposes. So you will need an ethical hacker to prevent any such malicious attacks from even happening and if it happens then the ethical hacker will perform the necessary action required to stop the Attack.
What does an Ethical hacker do?
The job of an ethical hacker is to hack inside the system with the consent or permission of the owner and provide a report about how it got hacked and tracked the main sources.
Here are the key responsibilities that separate an ethical hacker from a cybersecurity expert:
- Evaluate the performance of the system
- Test the security system
- Suggest solutions to enhance the security system
- Inform the organization about any malicious attack.
- Find weaknesses in the security system.
- Use appropriate techniques for hacking.
- Generate reports after finding vulnerabilities in the security system.
What is Cybersecurity?
At the end of the day, cybersecurity is one of these huge fields that we have put into place where we’re using it to create a lot of policies, methodologies & techniques tools.
Cyber security can be defined as the practice or a process designed in order to defend network computers and data from damaged malicious attacks or unauthorized access.
It is a combination of skills and tools which provides security to its users from many attacks on their data devices or programs. Cybersecurity is becoming more and more important day by day every organization whether government or private stores unprecedented amounts of data which is extremely crucial for that organization and needs proper security against any cyber threat.
The global cyber threat continues to evolve at a rapid pace and every organization needs to take appropriate steps in order to protect their sensitive information, especially those organizations that are involved in safeguarding national security data or other sensitive data.
What does a Cybersecurity expert do?
Cyber security experts work on securing information systems by Monitoring. detecting, analyzing, and responding to security experts. In simple terms, they work on protecting systems against cyber security risks vulnerabilities, and threats.
Here are the key responsibilities of a cybersecurity professional:
- Improve the security system.
- Maintain the security system by keeping it updated regularly.
- Work on it teams in order to protect the integrity of a business’s network and data
- Analyze the security system and provide suggestions regarding the same to the organization.
Read more about cybersecurity & its growing challenges in 2023…
Difference between Cybersecurity and Ethical Hacking
| Parameter | Ethical Hacking | Cybersecurity |
| 1. Mode of Working | Ethical Hacking deals with breaching the security set by the cybersecurity experts in the organization. | Cybersecurity primarily deals with recognizing and resolving any sort of potential security issues if present. |
| 2. End Goal | Ethical Hacking is concerned with exploiting company weak points and demonstrating failure in security. | Cybersecurity is concerned with reporting unauthorized use or violations of security policies. |
| 3. Production Environment | Ethical Hacking is used to evaluate the systems based on security policies that exist in the company. | Cybersecurity involves auditing all security technologies implemented in the company to check for violations. |
| 4. Reporting | Ethical Hacking involves the creation of thorough documentation to denote loopholes present in the system. | Cybersecurity involves more maintainability documentation than usual documentation to keep things in check. |
| 5. Client Usage | Ethical Hacking involves showing the weakness of a product to the client and how improvements can be made. | Cybersecurity takes the approach of showing how the latest methods and technologies can be used to safeguard tech. |
| 6. Problem Solving | Ethical Hacking involves showing how an attack can be launched and succeeded against a company or an individual. | Cybersecurity shows the impact of violations that can take place if security policies and methodologies are not right. |
| 7. Data Access | Ethical Hackers need to find methods to hack into the security system. | Cybersecurity experts already have access to the system at stake. |
| 8. Job Roles | Ethical Hacking involves Security Managers and Penetration testers among other roles. | Cybersecurity professions include SPC Engineers, CISO, Security Analyst and more. |
| 9. Average Salary | Average Indian Base Salary ₹6,15,012 per annum. | Average Indian Base Salary of ₹11,83,087 lakh per annum. *Glassdoor |
| 10. Easier To learn | Ethical Hacking involves a lot of creativity and out-of-the-box thinking to be able to crack into the system. | Cybersecurity involves detailed learning of methodologies, techniques and tools that can be unique to each organisation. |
A Career in Cybersecurity and Ethical hacking
Due to the increasing threats of attacks on data and misuse of data the field of cyber security is becoming bigger than ever and is rapidly increasing. The demand for cyber security experts is more than ever and the number of professionals in this field is getting short-handed in fulfilling the demand.
Therefore there is a shortage of skilled professionals in this field so if you have any interest in information technology or ethical hacking then there is no better time than this to enter the field. The cyber security market is predicted to become a 170 billion-dollar market in the near future itself.
Why is Cybersecurity important?
- Cybersecurity is important for several reasons. First and Foremost it’s essential for protecting businesses from cyber attacks. These attacks can involve anything from stolen data to crippling systems that impact the entire business. Cyber security is also important for safeguarding personal information as well as protecting critical infrastructures like the power grid or the financial system.
- Secondly, cyber security protects companies from legal liability. If a company is hacked and data is stolen the law often holds the company responsible even if the hackers were not actually from that company. Cyber security also helps protect companies against lawsuits related to environmental damage or product defects.
- Finally, cyber security protects companies against government investigations and accusations of wrongdoing by ensuring that their systems are properly protected against hacking and data breaches companies can avoid embarrassment and potential legal problems down the road
Why is Ethical Hacking important?
Ethical hacking is a process of testing the security of a system or network by attacking it and trying to find vulnerabilities. By doing this you can help to protect the system from unauthorized access, destruction, or theft. The benefits of ethical hacking are manifold.
- Not only does it improve the security of systems and networks but it also helps to uncover potential problems early on in order to prevent them from becoming bigger problems down the line.
- Additionally, ethical hacking can also help identify any malicious behavior that might be taking place on those systems.
If you’re interested in getting started in ethical hacking or Cybersecurity, there are a plethora of resources available online. One good starting point is the GUVI’s Cybersecurity and Ethical Hacking course bundle. We have a wide range of tutorials and scripts that will teach you everything you need to know about this fascinating field of hacking coaligned with a vetted curriculum of Cybersecurity.
