CEH

What Is an Ethical Hacker? 15

In this book you will encounter legal issues several times. You are respon-

sible for checking the details of what laws apply to you, and you will need

to get a lawyer to do that. You should be conscious of the law at all times

and recognize when you may be crossing into a legal area that you need

advice on.

Hacking Methodologies

A hacking methodology refers to the step-by-step approach used by an aggressor to attack
a target such as a computer network. There is no specific step-by-step approach used by all
hackers. As can be expected when a group operates outside the rules as hackers do, rules do
not apply the same way. A major difference between a hacker and an ethical hacker is the
code of ethics to which each subscribes.
The following steps, illustrated in Figure 1.2, typically comprise hacking process.

FIGURE 1.2 The hacking process

Scanning

Footprinting

Enumeration

System Hacking

Escalation of Privilege

Covering Tracks

Planting Backdoors

■ Footprinting means that you are using primarily passive methods of gaining informa-

tion from a target prior to performing the later active methods. Typically, you keep

interaction with your target to a minimum to avoid detection, thus alerting the target

that something is coming in their direction. A myriad of methods are available to