Most Important Ethical Hacking Concepts and Topics

Ethical hacking has been among the most demanded job opportunities or career options today. It is a skill that is in high demand because it helps organizations and businesses protect their networks and systems from different types of cyber attacks. 

In our Ethical Hacking Tutorial for Beginners, we have talked in detail about everything, from the meaning of ethical hacking to performing things on your own. Moreover, we have also covered the top ethical hacking interview questions and answers to get started in this field.

Here, in this write-up, we are mentioning some of the lesser-known yet important ethical hacking topics and concepts. These include UDP, ICMP, DNS, Mac Address, HTTP request and response, and more.

UDP is an alternative to TCP. It is a communication protocol used for the exchange of data between devices in a network. It is especially meant for the transmission of time-sensitive files. So, it transfers the data faster than TCP but is not as reliable as TCP. 

To enable faster data transfer, it avoids factors like the handshake, doesn’t check whether the data is transmitted properly, and if some data is lost while transmitting, it will not resume it. Hence, it accelerates the speed of transmission but doesn’t guarantee successful data transfer. 

User Datagram Protocol is used for time-bound tasks where it is better to drop the packets of data instead of waiting. Generally, it is preferred for video playbacks, voice traffic, and DNS lookups.

ICMP is a network layer protocol used in the devices within a network to find whether the data transmission initiated by a device has reached the destination without fail. 

The key role of Internet Control Message Protocol is to report errors in communication in computer networking. Mostly, it is used in routers, hosts, and intermediary devices within the network.

For example, if a packet of data is transmitted from source to destination, but the router finds this packet too large to process, then the data will be dropped, and an ICMP message will be sent to the source that the data couldn’t be transmitted.

It is the address of a website or blog that you type in the browser to open it. For example, the domain name of Microsoft’s website is microsoft.com.

DNS is the Domain Name System on the internet that converts domain names into IP addresses. Domain names are user-friendly, but machines and servers need IP addresses for processing user requests. So, DNS converts a domain name like microsoft.com into an IP address like 192.7.0.34. 

DNS is often called the phonebook of the internet because it stores the domain names of the websites with their IP addresses, the way phonebooks store the names of the people with their phone numbers.

To know in detail about what is IP address in networking and different types of IP address, check the linked write-ups.

A DNS zone file is a text (.txt) file that stores information about domain names in a DNS database. 

This file saves all the required details about the domains, including nameservers, DNS records, and more information.

The request made by the client to a host on the server to access the resources on the server is known as an HTTP request. 

URL components are required to place an HTTP request.

When the server responds to the HTTP request of the client, it is called an HTTP response. Here, the server delivers the resources requested by the client or informs about the errors that occur in fetching the resources.

MAC stands for Media Access Control. MAC Address is the unique number of hardware of the computer or other devices in a network. This number is assigned to the hardware at the time of its manufacturing. 

Also called the physical address or hardware address, the MAC Address is written in hexadecimal format, separated by colons. It has 12 digits with a length of 48 bits. For example, BA:00:4C:78:57:00. 

The first 24 bits in a MAC Address represent the organization that manufactured the hardware, called OUI (Organizational Unique Identifier). The rest of the 24 bits are for Network Interface Controller (NIC).

When there are multiple devices in a network, enabling one-to-one communication between two devices becomes a challenge. 

This is where the role of switching comes into play. The switching process creates a path between the sender and the receiver. So, it forwards the data coming from a device to the destination device.

Nmap has a powerful scripting engine. You can use these scripts to automate several tasks related to networking. The Nmap Scripting Engine also allows the writing of custom scripts for specific requirements. 

• -sC: Enable common scripts

• --script: Specify and choose your own scripts

• --script-args-file: Customize scripts by adding arguments.

• --script-help: See the description of the selected script

• --script-updatedb: Script debugging and development

• -sn: Running script scan without scanning the port

 Below is the list of scripts used to define common categories:

• auth: For authentication of credentials of the system. 

• broadcast: For finding the unlisted hosts on the command line by doing a broadcast of a local network.

• brute: This script is used to find the credentials of a remote server by carrying out brute force attacks. 

• default: This category includes the default set of categories used with -sC and -A scripts.

Metasploit is an open-source tool used to check and find systematic vulnerabilities in a server or network. Since it is open-source, it can also be customized according to the purpose of its use. 

Once ethical hackers use Metasploit to find loopholes in a system, they can use the information to fix the issues and make it secure.