Ethical hacking is termed as traditional hacking for the greater good! Also known as white hat hacking, wherein ethical hackers identify, understand and fix the vulnerabilities in the system before the bad actors exploit them. According to research conducted by Duke research, 90% of organizations in the USA specify their systems have been hacked in the pursuit of stealing important data.
Thus, incorporating ethical hacking into your organization’s security can be extremely helpful. If you’re interested in ethical hacking, thankfully, dozens of ethical hacking tools are available to automate the hacking process. Legit amazing! Ethical hacking tools help in network mapping, web security testing, packet capture, web security testing and more. In this guide, we’ll be discussing the top 10 ethical hacking tools to use in 2024.
Shedding Light on What is Ethical Hacking
Before delving into ethical hacking tools, let’s understand more about the concept of ethical hacking and its significance. Ethical hackers, also known as white hat hackers, use the required computer networking, Linux, programming skills and more to find loopholes or weaknesses in the computer system, network or applications and report it to the organizations.
By alleviating the tactics of bad actors, ethical hackers help organizations fortify their defenses, safeguard data and mitigate the risk of cyberattacks.
Knowing About Ethical Hacking Tools
Hacking tools or software's are computer programs or complex scripts designed by the developers that are used by the hackers to understand the weaknesses in the system, network, servers, etc. Consider the ever-increasing cyberthreat landscape, many employers, mainly in the banking sector are using ethical hacking tools to secure their data or network. Hacking tools are available in open source or as commercial solutions. Even though there are numerous hacking tools available, it is essential to understand what its purpose should be.
Top 10 Ethical Hacking Tools to Keep an Eye Out in 2024
Here’s a list of top 10 ethical hacking tools you should be aware of as an ethical hacker.
Nmap
Nmap abbreviated as Network Mapper is a commonly used and finest ethical hacking tools to collect relevant information about a target system. It is a network security mapper capable of discovering hosts and services on a network, by creating a network map. Furthermore, Nmap provides a variety of advanced functionalities that enhance its ability to thoroughly analyze a computer system and its host network. These features can aid in identifying potential security vulnerabilities and determining the overall health of the network. In addition, Nmap's capabilities extend to the detection of the operating system running on a particular host, providing valuable insight for network administrators and security professionals.
Features
- Find vulnerabilities on a network host.
- Scans the scrips
- Helps detect OS
- Scans IP address and ports
Invicti
Invicti is another ethical hacking tool and web application security scanner that is designed to identify and make use of vulnerabilities such as Cross Site Scripting and SQL injection in the web application.
Some of the significant features of Invicti are:
- The system uses proof-based scanning technology to identify vulnerabilities in the system correctly.
- The solution can be configured and scaled easily.
- Automatically identifies URL rewriting and 404 error pages.
Kismet
This stands as one of the efficient and best ethical hacking tools. Mainly used for testing wireless networks and hacking of wireless LAN. Kismet closely finds the networks, collects packets and detects the hidden network with the traffic data which is available. Kismet is a sniper and wireless network detector that works the best with wireless cards and supports raw-monitoring mode.
- Runs well with Linux OS
- Applicable to Windows OS sometimes
Burp Suite
Burp Suite is basically a Java-based framework that works mainly in Penetration Testing. This is amongst the popular ethical hacking tools used by professionals for the organization’s security. By using the Burp Suite ethical hacking tool, you can find vulnerabilities in the target system and authenticate if any bad actors are affecting your web applications.
- Provides integration of CI
- Scans scheduling and repeating
- Uses out-of-band techniques
Qualys Guard
Qualys Guard is an integrated suite of tools that is mainly used to simply security operations and lower the compliance cost. It delivers crucial security intelligence on demand and automates the complete spectrum of auditing, compliance and protection for web applications. It has a set of tools that monitors, detects and protects your global network.
Acunetix
Acunetix is an ethical hacking tool and automated web application security testing. Burp Suite is a widely used software in the cybersecurity industry due to its effectiveness in identifying and assessing potential security risks in web applications. By simulating attacks and analyzing the responses, Burp Suite can effectively pinpoint vulnerabilities that could compromise the security of web applications. This is crucial for organizations that are committed to protecting their systems and data from cyber threats. With the ability to identify vulnerabilities such as SQL injection and cross-site scripting, Burp Suite provides valuable insights that can be used to strengthen the security posture of web applications. Its comprehensive approach to auditing web applications makes it a valuable tool for security professionals and organizations looking to proactively manage their cybersecurity risks. One of the significant features of Acunetix is it has a crawler that can find almost any of the files.
Some features of Acunetix:
- Holds a record of identifying 6,500 vulnerabilities.
- Supports HTML5, JavaScript and Single Page Applications
Summing it Up
In the era of evolving cyberthreats, ethical hacking stands as a proactive approach to fortifying defenses and staying abreast of hackers. By utilizing the ethical hacking tools mentioned above, individuals and organizations can stay one step ahead of the realm and deal safely in the online world. To enhance the security posture of your organization, visit our blogs.
