According to the survey led by HackerOne, India ranks on top with over more than 23% of the world’s hackers.
The US stands second with 20% of hackers, Russia with 6%, the UK with 4%, and Pakistan with 4%.
Ethical Hackers are gaining popularity in organizations with an increase in vulnerabilities and threats.
Top companies like Facebook and Microsoft assist ethical hackers in gaining mainstream recognition.
If you want to start your career as an ethical hacker, then this article can help.
In this post, we have curated a list of top ethical hacking courses that are worth your investment and time.
Before we begin, let’s get an overview of what is ethical hacking and what are different skills one should acquire to become an ethical hacker.
What is ethical hacking?
Hacking is also known as penetration testing, which is said to be an act of intruding/penetrating into a system or network to observe vulnerabilities or threats in those systems which are affected for bad aspects.
Hacking is a part of the software industry since the last five decades and growing at a faster pace with the increase with computer threats and vulnerabilities.
The purpose of ethical hacking is to recover the security of the network by managing or fixing the threats.
It is the process in which hackers used the same tools similar to the black hat hackers, but the difference is they have to take the permission of the authorized person to perform the act.
Phases of ethical hacking
- Planning and reconnaissance
- Scanning
- Gaining access
- Maintaining access
- Analysis
Types of ethical hacking
- System hacking
- Web application hacking
- Web server hacking
- Hacking wireless networks
- Social engineering
Types of hackers
- White hat hacker: Use their ability for good
- Black hat hacker: Use it for malicious intents
- Grey hat hacker: May sometimes violate ethical standards but does not have the malicious intent
Most common skills an ethical hacker should have
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Basic knowledge of programming and scripting languages (Java, Python, C, C++)
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Good knowledge of different levels of Cyber and Network Security
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Understanding of security tools such as NMAP, Nessus, Metasploit, Wireshark, Burpsuite, Owasp-zap, Netsparker, etc
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Understanding of code reviews, wired and wireless environment assessments, and social engineering
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Knowledge of Sandbox Tools like Cuckoo
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Additional knowledge on other platforms will be valued: iOS and Android
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Pen testing and ethical hacking knowledge is a plus
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Knowledge of other malware analysis tools
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Should have excellent communication, strong interpersonal, organizational, and presentation skills, hard-working
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Enthusiastic and positive attitude with a desire to progress
Top courses for ethical hacking
Course description
In this course, you will learn the practical side of ethical hacking.
Explore tools and topics that will make you successful as an ethical hacker.
The course is incredibly hands-on and will cover many foundational topics such as a day in the life on an ethical hacker, What does an ethical hacker do on a day to day basis? How much can he or she make? What type of assessments might an ethical hacker perform?
These questions and more will be answered.
Course details
Rating: 4.7
Duration: 24.5 Hours
Skill level: Intermediate
Course content
- Introduction
- Note keeping
- Networking refresher
- Setting up our lab
- Introduction to linux
- Introduction to python
- The ethical hacker methodology
- Information gathering (Reconnaissance)
- Scanning & enumeration
- Additional scanning tools
- Exploitation basics
- Mid-course capstone
- Introduction to exploit development (Buffer overflows)
- Active directory overview
- Active directory lab build
- Attacking active directory: Initial attack vectors
- Attacking active directory: Post-compromise enumeration
- Attacking active directory: Post-compromise attacks
- Post exploitation
- Web application enumeration, revisited
- Testing the top 10 web application vulnerabilities
- Wireless penetration testing
- Legal documents and report writing
- Career advice
- BONUS section
Course description
This course is designed for candidates who want to learn website & web application hacking/penetration testing and how to secure websites & web applications from hackers.
This course is the most comprehensive ethical hacking course in the market.
It is a set of 5 different courses that will take you from beginner to expert, through easy to follow on-demand video lectures, articles, and other resources.
Learn everything about ethical hacking & penetration testing, and you will know how hackers hack and what you can do to stop them.
Course details
Rating: 4.5
Duration: 20.5 Hours
Skill level: Beginner
Course content
Course 1: Learn ethical hacking from scratch
Course 2: Learn website hacking / penetration testing from scratch
Course 3: Learn hacking using android from scratch
Course 4: Learn network hacking from scratch (WiFi & Wired)
Course 5: Learn social engineering from scratch
Course description
In this course, learn the objectives of cybersecurity including Intrusion Detection, Policy Creation, reconnaissance with Social Engineering and Google, DDoS Attacks, Buffer Overflows and Virus Creation.
Explore the tools required for the development and application of an effective vulnerability prevention strategy to prevent the attackers from entering key systems.
Learn how to protect users from cyber attackers by becoming an ethical hacker and learning to exploit networks yourself.
Course details
Rating: 4.6
Duration: 24 Hours
Skill Level: Intermediate
Course content
Module 1: Introduction
Module 2: Footprinting
Module 3: Scanning and enumeration
Module 4: System hacking
Module 5: Malware
Module 6: Sniffing
Module 7: Social engineering
Module 8: Denial of service
Module 9: Session hijacking
Module 10: Web servers and apps
Module 11: SQL injection
Module 12: Hacking wiFi and bluetooth
Module 13: Mobile hacking and security
Module 14: IDS, firewalls, and honeypots
Module 15: IoT
Module 16: Cloud
Module 17: Cryptography
Module 18: Reports
Module 19: Review
Course Description
This course is ideal for everyone, regardless of their skills and expertise.
It helps candidates with introducing concepts and the real-world tactics that hackers use so that you can protect yourself and your network.
The arrangement and presentation of learning resources will let both novices and more advanced students broaden their knowledge of IT security, ethical hacking and penetration testing.
Course details
Rating: 4.6
Duration: 24 Hours
Skill level: Intermediate
Course content
- Let's start
- Application security
- Introduction to cyber threats
- Popular IT security myths
- IT security trends
- Data security
- Computer network security
- Designing secure computer networks
- Network administration
- Wireless networks security
- Operating systems security
- Access control
- Windows security
- Security policies
- Risk management
- Defence in depth
- Disaster recovery
- Application security - Configuration and management
- Cryptography
- Public key infrastructure
- Prepare for the examination
- Certificate
- Rootkits and stealth apps: Creating and revealing v2.0 (course preview)
- BONUS section
Course Description
You can begin this course with any level of knowledge and quickly start advancing your skills like information technology and security expert anywhere in the world.
Gain the ability to do ethical hacking and penetration testing by taking this course.
Get answers from an experienced IT expert to every single question you have related to the learning you do in this course including,
- Installing Kali Linux
- Using VirtualBox
- Basics of Linux
- Tor
- Proxychains
- VPN
- Macchanger
- Nmap
- Cracking WiFi
- Aircrack
- DoS attacks
- SLL strip
- Known vulnerabilities
- SQL injections
- Cracking linux passwords
and many more topics that are added every month.
Course details
Rating: 4.6
Duration: 25 Hours
Skill level: beginner
Course Content
- Prerequisites for getting started with this course
- Basic hacking terms you will want to know getting started
- Build your hacking environment!
- Set up instructions for Mac users ONLY
- How to create a bootable USB of Kali Linux (optional)
- Updates: How to install VirtualBox on Fedora 22 + Kali Sana VM (OPTIONAL)
- Linux terminal including basic functionalities and CLI.
- What is Tor? How can you use it to protect your anonymity online?
- ProxyChains for using proxy servers, hiding your ip, and obtaining access
- What is a Virtual Private Network (VPN) and how you can stay anonymous with VPN?
- What is a macchanger? How can you use it to change your mac address?
- Footprinting with Nmap and external resources
- Attacking wireless networks
- Overview of the tools
- Breaking WPA/WPA2 encryption
- WiFi hacking and WiFi hacker training
- Signal jamming and denial of service
- SSL strips
- Let's have a bit of fun!
- Evil twin method! Clone wireless access points to steal data.
- Attacking routers to give you free reign over the entire network!
- DNS setting hacking to redirect users with post-authentication exploitation
- Website attacks with SQL injections
- Brute-forcing methods for cracking passwords
- Denial of Service (DoS) attacks demonstrated and explained
- Reverse shells
- Gain remote control of any device!
- Make your own Keylogger in C++
- Retired
Course description
In this course, we'll look at various attack vectors in web servers.
These include exploiting misconfigured servers, leveraging weaknesses in unpatched environments, compromising weak SSL implementations and much, much more.
Course details
Rating: 4.2
Duration: 2.25 Hours
Skill Level: Beginner
Course content
- Understanding how web servers are hacked
- Discovering risks in web servers
- Web server misconfiguration
- Managing and hardening web servers
- Other attacks against web servers
Course description
In this course, learn how to find various attack vectors in web servers.
These include exploiting misconfigured servers, leveraging weaknesses in unpatched environments, compromising weak SSL implementations and much, much more.
Course details
Rating: 4.2
Duration: 3 Hours
Skill level: Beginner
Course content
- Understanding organizational defenses
- Firewalls
- Intrusion detection systems
- Honeypots
Course description
This course is designed for anybody who wants to learn website & web application hacking/penetration testing, bug bounty hunter.
This course is highly practical, but it will not neglect the theory.
Since this is an advanced course it will be divided into its smaller components and understand how each of these components work.
Therefore by the end of the course you will be able to mix these attacks and adapt them to suit different situations and different scenarios.
You will also be able to write your own man in the middle scripts to implement your own attacks.
Course details
Rating: 4.5
Duration: 10 Hours
Skill level: Beginner
Course description
Basic IT Skills, No Linux, programming or hacking knowledge required.
This course is highly practical, but it won't neglect the theory.
Learn how to install the needed software (on Windows, Linux and Mac OS X) and then explore websites basics, the different components that make a website, the technologies used, and then dive into website hacking straight away.
Learn everything by example, by discovering vulnerabilities and exploiting them to hack into websites.
Course details
Rating: 4.6
Duration: 9 Hours
Skill level: Beginner
Course description
If you are interested in learning website & web application hacking/penetration testing, this course is for you.
Learn how to install the needed software (on Windows, Linux and Mac OS X) and then explore websites basics, the different components that make a website, the technologies used, and then we'll dive into website hacking straight away.
Learn everything by example, by discovering vulnerabilities and exploiting them to hack into websites, so we'll never have any dry, boring theoretical lectures.
Learn how to gather comprehensive information about the target website.
Then, the course is divided into a number of sections, each section covers how to discover, exploit and mitigate a common web application vulnerability.
For each vulnerability you will first learn the basic exploitation, then you will learn advanced techniques to bypass security, escalate your privileges, access the database, and even use the hacked websites to hack into other websites on the same server.
Course details
Rating: 4.5
Duration: 9 Hours
Skill level: Beginner
Course description
In this course, you will start as a beginner with no previous knowledge about penetration testing or hacking.
By the end of it you'll be at an intermediate level being able to hack into networks and connected devices like black-hat hackers and secure them like security experts.
This course is focused on the practical side of penetration testing without neglecting the theory.
Before jumping into hacking, you will first learn how to set up a lab and install needed software (works on Windows, Mac OS X and Linux).
Course details
Rating: 4.6
Duration: 8 Hours
Skill level: Beginner
Course content
- Introduction & course outline
- Preparation - Setting up the lab
- Network basics
- Pre-connection attacks
- Gaining access
- Gaining access - WEP cracking
- Gaining access - WPA/WPA2 cracking
- Gaining access - Security & mitigation
- Post connection attacks
- Post connection attacks - Information gathering
- Post connections attacks - Man in the middle attacks (MITM)
- Post connection attacks - Gaining full control over devices on the same network
- ARP poisoning detection & security
- Bonus section
- Computer Hacking Forensic Investigator Certification
Course description
The CHFI program is designed for all IT professionals involved with information system security, computer forensics, and incident response.
Computer hacking forensic investigation is the process of detecting hacking attacks, and properly extracting evidence to report the crime and conduct audits to prevent future attacks.
Course details
Rating: 4.6
Duration: 4 Hours
Skill level: Intermediate
Course content
- Computer forensics in today's world
- Computer forensics investigation process
- Understanding hard disks and file systems
- Operating system forensics
- Defeating anti-Forensics techniques
- Data acquisition and duplication
- Network forensics
- Investigating web attacks
- Database forensics
- Cloud forensics
- Malware forensics
- Investigating email crimes
- Mobile forensics
- Investigative reports
All the best!
