Security Breaches And Vulnerabilities Will Never End. Vulnerabilities That Take On A More Strange Color Day By Day And Force Companies To Hire Expert And Professional Experts To Protect Their Infrastructure, Databases, And Especially Communication Networks. 

You need more than individual skills to find the job you love in the security world. Perhaps you have a high level of knowledge and expertise in using security tools and installing complex security packages.

However, most companies prefer to hire people who have studied security topics in a standard way and accordance with international courses.

CEH is one of the most popular training courses in security that most schools in the country teach. But what is this course?

An introduction to the CEH exam

The CEH (Certified Ethical Hacker) course is designed to test and confirm an applicant’s level of readiness to conduct security assessments. This exam is developed, maintained, and administered by the International Council of Electronic Commerce Consultants (EC-Council) and is most suitable for people early in their careers in the field of information security.

Ideally, people with at least two years of experience in the security field or teaching security topics should consider taking this exam. In this test, the applicant must answer the questions and tests more related to the underlying issues and details of an organization’s networks and computer systems with a security approach.

But who is a legitimate hacker? It is a person who identifies the vulnerability and security deficiencies of the infrastructure of a large or small organization before the breaches are identified and used by hackers and provide a solution to eliminating the vulnerabilities.

CEH is a course that focuses on network security. In this course, security managers, network managers, security auditors, and other IT experts increase their skills in the field of security. In this course, applicants for the CEH degree must answer 125 questions in seven sections, and you will get to know them further.

What is ethical hacking?

Ethical hacking is a term that indicates that your intention to break into information systems is not criminal activity or sabotage. In the world of security, the word hacker is associated with malicious cyber activities, but how can we describe the behavior of a person who has broken the defense mechanisms of information systems and entered them as ethical?

The term ethical hacker describes a person who uses the same skills as a black hat hacker, except that they seek to make an expected profit. More precisely, this person seeks to gain benefits by identifying vulnerabilities within an organization’s infrastructure and informing them about these vulnerabilities. In contrast, a black hat hacker identifies vulnerabilities and extracts information or causes damage to the infrastructure without the organization’s knowledge.

He does. Ethical hackers (white hats) test the security of systems owned by their employers or clients to implement strong security measures.
As with many technical specialties, a certification program is designed to perform these steps so that ethical hackers can demonstrate their level of knowledge and skills.

Companies looking to hire staff or consultants to perform penetration testing are more likely to seek out individuals who have earned the CEH certification. The CEH course is designed with this goal in mind. This document shows that people have a good level of knowledge in evaluating security issues, and more importantly, they have proven their competence ethically and technically.

Why should we be ethical hackers?

It is a question that many people ask. The answer is clear. The job market for white hat hackers is booming. The demand for information security professionals is increasing, and those with moderate knowledge and experience can easily earn high salaries. TechTarget conducted a 2014 survey focusing on information security professionals’ wages.

This survey showed that these people receive an average salary of $112,372. Earning a CEH degree is an excellent way for people who want to enter the world of security seriously.

How to get CEH certificate?

The CEH program is run by a group of EC-Council information security experts. It is an introductory-level certification aimed at assessing people with little experience in the field of information security. Of course, people with no previous experience and background in the field of information security can enroll in this course.

There are different ways to get this certificate or participate in the CEH exam. You can learn the necessary training in person, online, or by attending accredited centers.

However, following the training classes will guarantee you will learn the topics correctly. Suppose you prefer not to participate in any of CEH’s official training programs.

In that case, you must be familiar with registering and depositing money, which I do not recommend considering the difficulties in obtaining the above degree. You have to answer 125 multiple-choice questions in 4 hours, with an average of under two minutes per question.

To pass this test, you must answer at least 88 questions correctly. In other words, answer 70% of the questions correctly. The validity period of the CEH certificate is three years; after this time, you must renew the validity of your certificate for another three years.

What topics does the CEH exam include?

The CEH exam is based on a seven-part plan, where each part has its questions. These seven sections are as follows:

• Field 1: Background (21.79%)
• Possession 2: Analysis/Assessment (12.73%)
• Area 3: Security (23.73%)
• حوزه 4: Tools/Systems/Programs (28.91%)
• Area 5: Procedures/Methodology (8.77%)
• Area 6: Regulation/Policy (1.90%)
• Estate 7: Ethics (2.17%)

As you can see, you should spend most of your time in areas 1, 3, and 5. If you spend some time reading the policies and regulations or the ethics section, you haven’t done anything in vain.

Getting to know the seven sections of the CEH exam

As mentioned, CEH exam questions are divided into seven different domains/units. Each part will assess you with a minimum of two and a maximum of 36 questions. The summary of the questions asked in each section of this test is as follows:

Domain 1: Background

The first area of ​​the CEH exam is designed to assess applicants’ general knowledge in the field of information security. 27 questions are assigned to this part of the test, and this domain itself is divided into three subdomains as follows:

• Network and communication technologies (10 questions)
• Information security threats and attack vectors (9 questions)
• Information security technologies (8 questions)
• Network technologies (hardware, infrastructure, etc.)
• Web technologies (Web 2.0, Skype, etc.) while little information is provided about the style and context of the questions in this domain, however, in the previous writing, more comprehensive information about the questions of each of the subdomains was provided as follows:
• System Technologies
• Communication protocols
• Operations performed by malware
• Mobile technologies (smartphones)
• Telecommunication technologies
• Backup and archiving (local, network, etc.)

The questions in this domain are primarily dedicated to topics that a white hat hacker.

Domain 2: Analysis/Assessment

The second part/domain of the CEH exam focuses on various analysis and evaluation mechanisms, and a white hat hacker is expected to perform these analyses correctly. In this field, a total of 16 questions were asked, which are divided into two sub-domains:

1. Information security assessment and analysis (8 questions)
2. Information security assessment process (8 questions)
This test evaluates cognitive and perceptual aspects, as the subdomain’s name indicates. In other words, the questions of this section assess and challenge the general and perceptive skills of the applicants. In this area, the EC Council has considered the following four topics:
1. Data analysis
2. System analysis
3. Risk assessment
4. Technical evaluation methods
This part of the test mostly tries to increase your level of knowledge and high-level evaluations in facing Check security issues.

Domain 3: Security

Security is one of the three significant and vital areas of the CEH exam, for which 30 questions are considered. The questions in this section assess your knowledge of security incident management, including prevention, detection, and proactive defense against attacks.

The three subdomains of this section are as follows:

1. Control of information security (15 questions)
2. Detection of security attacks (9 questions)
3. Prevention of attacks on data (databases) (6 questions)
The questions in this part of the test evaluate various subjects and topics, and as a result, A high level of knowledge and experience is required to answer these questions. The purpose of the questions in this section is to evaluate your level of expertise in using security tools. Tools used to prevent or detect attacks. As an applicant participating in this test, you must know how to configure and implement these tools. The topics that the EC organization explicitly mentioned in its previous exam plan are as follows:
– System Security Controls
– File Server/Application
– Firewall
– Cryptography
– Network
Security – Physical Security
– Threat modeling
– Authentication methods (false positive/false negative validation)
– Social engineering (manipulation of human agents)
– Vulnerable scanners
– Consequences of adopting security policies
– Privacy/confidentiality (concerning participation)
– Biometrics
– Access technologies Wireless (Networking, RFID, Bluetooth, etc.)
– Trusted Networks
– Vulnerability
As you can see, this exam section covers a vavariousics, and most of the issues are covered in just one or two questions. Many of these topics (such as social engineering and verification methods) are introduced to ensure you have a solid understanding of the underlying concepts. But to answer other questions (like file
server/application) you need more knowledge.

Domain 4: Tools, Systems, Applications

Scholars interested in participating in the CEH exam should note that the CEH exam is intended to evaluate your professional competence level. As a result, to answer the questions correctly, you should not be satisfied only with memorizing educational pamphlets and books. Domain 4 is another section of the exam that has 36 questions and focuses on your knowledge of standard systems, programs, and tools that a white hat hacker uses to do his job.
This section is divided into three subdomains:
1. Information security systems (7 questions)
2. Information security programs (5 questions)
3. Information security tools (24 questions)
This part of the exam is a combination of theoretical and practical content. The EC Council has attempted to test the applicant’s knowledge of tools used for various purposes, including the following:
1. Network/Host Based Intrusion
2. Wireless/Network Snooping (Wireshark, AirSnort, etc.)
3. Access control mechanisms (smart cards and similar)
4. Cryptographic techniques (IPsec, SSL, PGP)
5. Programming languages ​​(C++, Java, C#, C)
6. Scripting languages ​​(PHP, JavaScript)
7. Tools Used in connection with border protection
8. Network topology
9. Subnet
10. Port scanning (Nmap)
11. Domain Name System (DNS)
12. Routers/modems/switches
13. Vulnerability scanners (Nessus, Retina, etc.)
14. Vulnerability management and protection systems (such as Foundstone and Ecora)
15. Operating environments (Windows, Linux, Mac)
16. Antivirus systems and applications
17. Log analysis tools
18. Security models
19. Tools used to exploit exploits
20. The database structures of the mentioned titles are good proof that to answer the questions of this section, you must be properly familiar with the tools of this field and have practically worked with them.

Questions in this section range from identifying the most efficient tools to perform a particular task to reading output or formatting input for a device. Practical experience working with the most common information security tools is essential to answer the questions in this section correctly.

Try to learn how to use Nmap, Metasploit, John the Ripper, THC Hydra, OWASP Zed, Wireshark, Aircrack-ng, Maltego, Cain and Abel, and Nikto Website Vulnerability Scanner.

Domain 5: Procedures/Methodology

This section considers 11 questions about conventional information security procedures and methodologies. This section is divided into two subdomains as follows:
1. Information security procedures (5 questions)
2. Information security assessment methods (6 questions)
To implement a security solution and deal with the attack vectors of a white hat hacker, you must have a correct understanding of the mentioned topics. This part of the knowledge test in the field of design and infrastructure architecture of different types of systems about cryptography, critical public infrastructure (PKI), security architecture (SA), service-oriented architecture (SOA), information security incident, multi-layer program design (N -Layer), evaluates TCP/IP based networks (network routing) and security testing method.

The questions raised in this section are mostly adapted from information technology and software development topics. People with a background in software development or information technology should not face any particular problem in answering the questions in this section.

Domain 6: Policy/Regulations

This section is one of the minor sections of the CEH exam and has only two questions. As a white hat hacker, you must know how to deal with internal organizational governance policies and laws imposed by legal entities. This part of the knowledge test evaluates some necessary information security regulations and applied governance policies.

Domain 7: Ethics

The final part of the CEH exam is about ethical issues. The questions in this section are dedicated to whether the applicant knows how to use the skills he has learned correctly.

In this part of the test, you have to answer three questions about ethical topics and evaluate your knowledge in facing certain situations. Be careful, this part of the test is seemingly unimportant, but it is one of the essential parts that may seriously challenge your chances of passing the test.