Cyber Security Vs Ethical Hacking: Which is The Best Option?

Melissa Crooks
6 min readFeb 29, 2024

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Cyber Security Vs Ethical Hacking

Data leakage and security breaches are the major reasons for business loss. Business competitors and blackmailers are always looking to hack your system and access your important data.

The confidentiality and privacy of data are always a concern of any business, and to ensure that one needs to have a security system. So, how to protect the privacy of your important data with the right security system?

Cyber security and ethical hacking are the most prominent, these are two different methods of maintaining security and privacy. Both methods have different approaches to providing security to your system.

Both methods serve their part in strengthening your security. If you want to choose one of them, then this article will help you decide the right option with a detailed comparison.

Loses Due to Cyber Attacks

Businesses face huge losses due to data leakage and security breaches. The report shows that the losses due to cyber-attacks are increasing year by year.

In the year 2017, a total of $1.4 billion loss was reported in the USA.

Which increased to $ 6.9 billion in 2021.

This report shows the importance of cyber security and ethical hacking to protect data from hackers and competitors.

Your business needs security, but which method of security is best feet for your organization? Let’s explore ethical hacking and cyber security and understand and compare them to choose the best option.

Guide to Ethical Hacking

Ethical hacking is breaking into any system to check the security overall security of the organization. The ethical hacker’s job is to hack the system to detect vulnerabilities in an app or software that attackers can use to perform any security damage to an organization or any individual.

It is a good hacking that ensures the security of the system by avoiding bad hacking. There are several types of ethical hacking that you need to know to identify the working process and choose the best option among them.

Types of Ethical Hacking

There are three main types of ethical hacking:

1) White box testing

Ethical hackers get complete information about the source code and architecture of the system. In white-box testing the ethical hacker analyzes the entire source code of the system and finds the vulnerability in the system.

2) Black box testing

Unlike white box testing, black box testing involves breaking down the system without getting any prior knowledge of the source code or internal workings. Ethical hackers simulate the approach to identify the threats to security.

3) Gray box testing

Gray box testing combines the elements of white box and black box testing. In gray box testing, ethical hackers get limited information about the source code and that emulates the approach to identify vulnerabilities in the system.

Importance of Ethical Hacking

The ethical hacker can think from a hacker’s perspective, he knows the ideas and entrance to break the security.

The cyber world is full of threats, and to ensure the safety of your system, ethical hacking can help. It identifies the threats and any vulnerabilities that can harm your system’s security.

It protects your important data from your enemies and blackmailers, by safeguarding your system. For organizations, the confidentiality of data is crucial, and ethical hacking is the key to maintaining the confidentiality of your important data.

Trained ethical hackers are experts in protecting the data. In an organization, ethical hackers can perform quick tests to detect threats in extreme situations.

Cyber Security, Types and Importance

Cybersecurity is the practice of defending the privacy of sensitive and ensuring the safety of computers, servers, mobile devices, and electronic system networks.

Unlike ethical hacking, cyber security aims to identify any security issue in the system and resolve it immediately. It is a security system that protects the system and protects the data from unauthorized access and malicious attacks. Let’s explore, cyber security, its types and the importance, of understanding cybersecurity in detail.

Types of Cyber Security

1) Network Security

It protects the confidentiality, integrity, and available data, it involves the implementation of the software, hardware, and protocol to prevent any unauthorized attack. Network security defends against attacks like Malware, Phishing attacks, and unauthorized access attempts.

2) Application Security

Cyber security in software development is essential. The application security defends the app or software from data breaches, service disruption, and any unauthorized access. It is required to implement security controls within the software development life cycle to avoid any security threat to software or applications. it involves code reviews and vulnerability assessments and safeguards the application.

3) Cloud Security

It protects the cloud-based infrastructure, data, and applications hosted in a cloud environment. It includes measures like access control, identity management, and encryption, that ensure safety against data breaches, internal threats, and other cloud-specific risks.

Importance of Cyber Security

It ensures the privacy of data, in any electronic device, or application. It provides security and prevents hackers from attacking on system and using sensitive data against you.

The organization’s loyalty depends on the data safety it offers, the safety of user data ensures brand loyalty. Being an organization it is your responsibility to protect the data of users and that builds trust among users, Cyber security can prevent unauthorized access to data, and help you maintain your brand loyalty.

Cybersecurity system allows app development companies to focus on their daily tasks by ensuring safety and privacy, it takes care of all threats to data privacy.

Top 10 Differences Between Cyber Security and Ethical Hacking

Below are the 10 differences that help you choose the right option:

Ethical hacking Parameters

Mode of working: Bypassing security and identifying vulnerabilities and threats in the system.
End goal: Exploring the security goals and finding the weaknesses of the security of businesses.
Production environment: Systems are evaluated based on the company’s security guidelines.
Reporting: It involves creating extensive documents, to identify security flaws within the system.
Client usage: It identifies the security flaws of the system and suggests changes to improve the security of the system.
Problem-solving: It demonstrates the way attackers can start and succeed in the security damage.
Data access: It is an Ethical hacker’s call to decide the way to breach the security mechanism.
Job role: It has two job roles, security manager and tester.
Easier to learn: Ethical hackers should be highly creative and think outside the box to break into the system.
Average Salary: Lower compared to cyber security.

Cyber Security Parameters

Mode of working: It recognizes security issues and resolves them.
End goal: Identifying and reporting the security of any unauthorized access.
Production environment: It audits technologies used for security, to maintain data privacy accurately.
Reporting: It involves higher maintenance paperwork to control the security.
Client usage: It suggests the usage of the latest technology and implementation to strengthen your security system.
Problem-solving: It states that security flaws can be the result of security damage.
Data access: Access to the system at risk is already available.
Job role: It involves multiple job roles such as SPC engineer, security analyst, CISO, and others.
Easier to learn: Learning strategies, tools, and procedures of the company are required.
Average Salary: Higher comparatively.

Conclusion

Cybersecurity and ethical hacking both are accurate methods to protect your system. Ethical hacking is a particular skill within the larger field of cybersecurity. Select ethical hacking for a focused approach on penetration testing and vulnerability assessment, or cybersecurity for a comprehensive strategy.

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Melissa Crooks

Content Writer who writes for Hyperlink InfoSystem - top mobile app development company.