Top Ethical Hacking Tools and Software in 2024

In 2024 the field of cybersecurity displays its modifications by the development of ethical hacking tools and software. Identifying vulnerabilities and securing the organization’s strength are the core functions of these tools. Let’s check out the latest hacking tools that are causing a buzz this year.

What is Ethical Hacking?

“Ethical hacking is officially described as the authorized attempt to simulate unauthorized access to computer systems, data, or applications. Its basic goal is to find the vulnerabilities in an application, system, or organization.“

Do Hackers Use Ethical Hacking Tools Too?

The distinction between hacking and ethical hacking is not in the tools used but in the intentions. Ethical hackers, unlike cyber criminals, who are looking for the endless vulnerabilities in the security system, are involved in the quiz process. Hence, some of the tools that both attackers and defenders have developed are the same, and some of them were originally provided by malicious hacker(s).

Are Cybersecurity Professionals Using These Kinds Of Tools?

However, these hacker tips are the most necessary tools for the fight against cyber duplicity. They also give IT security people the possibility to be proactive and to catch their vulnerabilities in systems, apps & networks before malicious actors hinder them.

Here are the Top Ethical hacking tools and softwares in 2024:

1. Nmap (Network Mapper)

If, as in our case, computer hacking is our purpose, Nmap – Network Mapper is a worthy tool in scanning ports. This application was created for Unix/Linux operating systems but is now compatible with Windows as well. It is the Nmap tool that is presented here – it is a powerful command-line tool used for the purpose of network security mapping, i.e. it is a tool that is able to identify hosts and services across networks and thus create network maps.

Key Features

• Network Discovery
• Port Scanning
• Operating System Detection
• Script Extensibility

How to Master NMAP? Check out these

Network Scanning with Nmap | Part-1: Watch Now 

Network Scanning with Nmap | Part-2: Watch Now

2. Metasploit

The uniqueness of Metasploit software lies in the fact that it is not just a tool, but a complete framework created for penetration testing and exploiting the vulnerabilities of the old systems. The ethical hackers who utilize its modular architecture to be able to simulate real-world cyber attacks, can thus secure their vulnerable system ahead of time.

Initial Competences:

• Exploit Development
• Payload Delivery
• Post-Exploitation

3. Nikto

Nikto is one of the most often used powerful web scanners that ethical hackers would employ to evaluate different web servers. It provides clear status on the hacked server and other vulnerabilities like outdated tools, and files and risky CGIs that would compromise the security of the server. Nikto can be applied in two ways: server-specific and generic checks, and by doing so, detailed reports including cookies are captured.

Master Nikto In Your Bug Bounty Journey: Read More

4. Wireshark

Wireshark is a well-known network protocol analyzer. It grabs and dissects packets in real-time, thus supporting the user in the troubleshooting of networking problems, protocol dissection, and the detection of an attack. Through its intuitive interface, Wireshark is accessible to beginners as well as professionals.

5. Burp Suite

Burp Suite is a broad system for web application security testing. It boasts several tools inclusive of scanning, crawling, and manipulation of web applications. These tools are going to help white hat hackers in the discovery of weaknesses such as SQL injection and cross-site scripting (XSS).

• Scheduled and recurring scans
• Advanced out-of-band techniques
• CI integration

6. Aircrack-ng

Aircrack-ng, in reality, is a consolidation of different tools utilized to check the security of Wi-Fi systems. It is made up of devices that capture data packets, WEP and WPA/WPA2-PSK crackers, and analyzers for wireless LANs. Aircrack-ng is a tool that is mostly used by ethical hackers to crack WEP and WPA passwords, allowing them to legally break into private networks to ensure that the network is secure.

7. John the Ripper

John the Ripper, one of the fastest password crackers. It finds weak passwords and does brute force attacks to find the password hashes. The tool is key in determining how secure the password strength is and setting up harder ways of authentication.

8. Hashcat

• Password Cracking: The famous program Hashcat is well known for its quickness and adaptability in overcoming the password hashes.
• Custom Rule Sets: Clipper, an ethical hacker, tackles the cracks of password hashing & hacking (profession) with completely customized rule sets that he devises and tunes based on the intuition he gains from the known patterns or characteristics of victim’s passwords.
• Benchmarking: This is to ensure that computational devices are being utilized efficiently in the process of password auditing as well as during other tasks.

9. OWASP ZAP (Zed Attack Proxy)

OWASP ZAP is a kind of an open-source(web application) which the price of the security scanner is free of charge. It is being used by an army of ethical hackers that accumulate information on weak spots of web applications during the period of development and testing end-to-end.

10. SQLMap

One of its kind, with SQLMap, we uncover and exploit the flaws of SQL injection in web applications and databases. SQLMap is the application which is initiating all the way through the detection of SQL injection vulnerabilities and exploitation of the discovered loopholes. Therefore, no data is manipulated hence the possibility of this kind of security breach is reduced.

SQLMap’s features include:

• Powerful detection engine
• Supports executing arbitrary commands
• Supports MySQL, Oracle, PostgreSQL, and more.

11. Ghidra

Ghidra is a piece of software built by the NSA for doing reverse engineering. It is the main program that is designed to help the white hat hackers in analyzing the wrongful codes, the performance of software and bugs etc. Its advanced capabilities make it indispensable for learning informatics and antivirus research.

Also Read: Top Cyber Security Certifications & How to Select the Best Option for Your Needs

Conclusion

Nowadays, in 2024, ethical hacking tools are highly needed and should be in place if anyone has to secure his systems, be they digital, from the continuously evolving cyber threats. For the Cybervie’s Certified Security Engineer Professional (CSEP) program, we aim to train the IT professionals who must not only have the knowledge but also the skills to carry out ethical hacking and penetration testing.

Cybervie is the best place for you to join and start or further your career in cybersecurity and also safeguard companies from cyber risks.