Intelligent CISO Issue 18 | Page 68

decrypting myths Despite Hollywood’s best efforts to convince us otherwise, not all types of hacking are criminally motivated. mitigation as soon as they are found. Finally, they ensure the privacy of both the organisation and its employees is respected throughout the process. What can ethical hacking be used for? Most ethical hacking companies offer a variety of services to organisations that are looking to improve their overall security posture. Vulnerability, discovery and remediation The first and mostly widely recognised service is the identification of security vulnerabilities within an organisation’s existing security. Working alongside the company in question, ethical hackers will perform a full evaluation of all systems, using the same techniques deployed by criminal hackers. Once finished, they will provide a detailed report highlighting any/all vulnerabilities found, which the organisation can use to inform its security strategy and improve overall defences. Pre-emptive preparation and training In today’s ever evolving security landscape it’s impossible to be 100% protected against malicious hackers at all times. When a successful cyberattack does occur, it can be devastating for any business but particularly those that aren’t prepared and don’t have a 68 Issue 18 | www.intelligentciso.com