Phases Of Ethical Hacking: Anjana sat in her Bengaluru flat on a rainy evening, sipping chai, when her friend Arjun rushed in with a baffled look. His small startup’s website had been defaced overnight: a message sprayed across the homepage saying “Hacked by ZeroX.”

The panic was real. Arjun called a local “ethical hacker” who said, “Don’t worry, I can fix and protect. But first I’ll go through the phases of ethical hacking to see how the attacker got in.”

As Anjana watched, the hacker drew a map: “First I will do reconnaissance, then scanning, then gain access, and so on…” That moment stuck with Riya, she realised there is a method behind the hacking, and there are good hackers (ethical hackers) – who follow the steps. That evening she decided to learn more, share what she learns, and build a community of defenders.

What Is Ethical Hacking?

The first-ever ethical hacking can be traced back to the early 1970s, long before “ethical hacking” became an official term.

In 1974, the U.S. Air Force conducted a security test on its computer systems to find weaknesses, this is often recognised as the first ethical hacking exercise. The goal was to identify vulnerabilities before real attackers could exploit them.

But the concept of ethical hacking truly gained public attention in 1972, when Dan Farmer and Wietse Venema created the SATAN tool (Security Administrator Tool for Analyzing Networks) in the early 1990s. However, the roots go back to 1974, when the term “penetration testing” began being used in government and defence networks.

Kevin Mitnick is widely considered as the “father of ethical hacking.” Mr Mitnick used to be a black-hat hacker, and then turned himself to a security expert, author, and consultant. Although no single person can be called the father of ethical hacking, it is Mr Mitnick who can be adhered to that.

To explain what is meant by ethical hacking simple terms – ethical hacking is when someone, with permission, tries to break into systems or networks to find weaknesses, so that those weaknesses can be fixed. It’s like letting a friendly “tester” play the role of the burglar to see where your doors, windows, or alarms are weak.

This introduction to ethical hacking helps frame why we need the phases of ethical hacking, because a structured approach reduces chance of missed holes, and helps the defender understand the steps. Ethical hackers are also called “white hat” hackers; unlike black hats, they have permission and do not steal or harm.

There are types of ethical hacking too, for example:

• Web application penetration testing
• Network penetration testing
• Social engineering
• Wireless network testing
• System / OS level testing

Each type might emphasise different parts of the phases of ethical hacking. But no matter the type, the underlying phases remain similar.

Who Invented Ethical Hacking?

The term “Ethical Hacking” itself was coined by IBM in the 1980s. IBM’s internal security experts led by John Patrick, then Vice President of Internet Technology, used it to describe authorised attempts to test computer system security.

So, while the practice started with the U.S. Air Force (1970s), the term “ethical hacking” was officially introduced by IBM in the 1980s.

Later, EC-Council (founded in 2001) made the term popular globally by launching the Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) program.

The Five Core Phases of Ethical Hacking

Most practitioners break down the phases of ethical hacking into 5 main steps. (Some frameworks use 6 or 7, but 5 is common and easy to grasp.)

These five are:

1. Reconnaissance (information gathering)
2. Scanning (enumeration & vulnerability discovery)
3. Gaining Access (exploiting vulnerabilities)
4. Maintaining Access (persistence)
5. Covering Tracks (cleanup & stealth)

1. Reconnaissance (Footprinting / Information Gathering)

This is the first phase of the phases of ethical hacking. In this stage, the ethical hacker becomes a digital investigator. They collect as much public and semi-public information as possible about the target: domain names, IP ranges, employee names, technology stack, public documents, DNS records, social media.

There are two sub-modes:

• Passive reconnaissance: gathering info without touching the target (e.g., whois lookups, Google dorks, LinkedIn profiles)
• Active reconnaissance: more direct, like ping sweeps, port scans (but in a non-intrusive way)

For example, suppose Arjun’s startup used the domain arjunstartup.in. A hacker might use “whois” to see the domain registrar, possible contact emails, or use tools like nslookup or dig to find subdomains, or check job postings to guess which technologies the startup uses (e.g., “we use Node.js + MySQL”).

2. Scanning & Enumeration

Once reconnaissance gives an overview, the hacker moves to the scanning (or enumeration) phase, the second of the phases of ethical hacking. Here, the goal is to map out which hosts are live, which services are running, which ports are open, and identify vulnerabilities.

Techniques used:

• Port scanning, e.g., with Nmap, to discover open TCP/UDP ports
• Vulnerability scanning, using automated tools to see known weaknesses
• Banner grabbing / fingerprinting, to learn software versions
• Network mapping / topology discovery

For instance, the hacker may find that port 22 (SSH) and port 8080 (web app) are open on one server. The SSH’s banner reveals OpenSSH version 7.4. The web app is running Apache 2.4. One version has a known exploit.

At this point, the hacker might also check the types of ethical hacking tools suited for scanning (e.g. Nessus, OpenVAS, Netcat). The output of this phase feeds into the next.

Read More: Machine Learning Projects For Final Year

3. Gaining Access (Exploitation)

Now comes the most exciting (and risky) phase of all phases of ethical hacking: gaining access. Based on the vulnerabilities identified, an ethical hacker attempts to exploit them to get into the system, usually aiming for a shell or admin-level access.

Methods include:

• SQL injection in a web form
• Buffer overflow in an application
• Brute force or password cracking in ethical hacking, trying to brute-force login credentials
• Using exploit tools or scripts

Suppose the web app had a SQL injection vulnerability on parameter id. The hacker injects payload 1 OR 1=1 — and gains access to an admin panel. Or, the hacker obtains a hashed password dump and runs a password cracking tool offline (dictionary attack or brute force) to reveal plain passwords.

Sometimes, session hijacking in ethical hacking might be used here: stealing a user’s session token to impersonate them (for instance, grabbing the cookie of a logged-in admin). At this point, the hacker is inside. But the work is not done.

4. Maintaining Access (Persistence)

After getting in, the ethical hacker tries to maintain the access long enough to test further, deploy backdoors, or inspect deeper layers. This is the fourth phase in the phases of ethical hacking.

Techniques:

• Installing Trojans or backdoors
• Deploying rootkits
• Creating “reverse shells” or persistent services
• Escalating privileges

For example, the hacker might upload a web shell that listens on a hidden port. Or on Linux, root-level malware might hide itself (so later the system admin doesn’t see it in normal ps output).

It’s like breaking into a building, and then stashing a secret key or hidden corridor so you can slip back in later without alarms.

5. Covering Tracks (Cleanup & Stealth)

The fifth and final phase of phases of ethical hacking is covering tracks. Just like a criminal might erase fingerprints, an ethical hacker removes signs of their presence (so the real defenders can’t see how they got in) and leave logs clean.

Actions may include:

• Deleting or altering logs
• Removing injected files or shells
• Restoring timestamps
• Wiping traces of account creations

In many reports, this phase is called “clearing tracks” or “covering tracks.” Even though ethical hackers are not doing harm, this step helps the defenders understand the attack paths without misleading logs, so they can patch systems.

Optional Phase: Reporting & Remediation

Many frameworks add a sixth or seventh phase: reporting, remediation, or follow-up. Some extend the phases of ethical hacking to include this step so that discoveries are documented and communicated.

In this optional phase:

• The ethical hacker prepares a report: vulnerabilities found, how access was gained, what to fix
• They work with the system owner to patch or remove issues
• They may retest (validate)

This makes the effort actionable.

Why Use These Phases? Are there any Advantages of Ethical Hacking?

You might ask now, why go through these structured phases of ethical hacking instead of ad hoc poking around? Well, that touches on the advantages of ethical hacking.

• Systematic discovery: You reduce the chance of missing a vulnerability.
• Better communication: You can show the steps taken to stakeholders.
• Risk control: You limit harmful side effects by planning each operation.
• Learning & clarity: Even defenders learn from logs and step-by-step breakdowns.
• Prevention before attack: Ethical hacking helps find holes before malicious hackers do.

In short, using the phases of ethical hacking makes the work reproducible, accountable, and more trustworthy.

Password Cracking & Session Hijacking in Ethical Hacking!

Password Cracking in Ethical Hacking

After scanning and finding a weak login or credential store, an ethical hacker might download the hashed password database (if SQL injection allowed that). Then they run tools like John the Ripper, Hashcat, or oclHashcat to crack passwords using:

• Brute force (trying all combinations)
• Dictionary attacks (using known wordlists)
• Rainbow tables or precomputed hash tables

If a weak password “password123” is cracked, the hacker gains login and can proceed to further phases.

Session Hijacking in Ethical Hacking

Suppose the web application uses session cookies over unencrypted HTTP. An ethical hacker on the same network captures those cookies (sniffing). Using that cookie, the hacker can impersonate a logged-in user without needing the password. This is session hijacking in ethical hacking.

For example: A user logs in to their dashboard. The hacker intercepts the cookie SESSIONID=ABC123. They inject it in their browser, and now they appear as that user. This technique may even bypass multi-factor authentication if session tokens are already valid.

These two examples show how specific techniques tie into the phases of ethical hacking, especially in the gaining access and maintaining access phases.

Challenges, Tips & Common Pitfalls

• Overlapping phases: Real attacks are not always linear. You may go back to scanning after gaining partial access.
• False positives: Vulnerability scanners may show issues that aren’t real; cross-check manually.
• Legal clearance: Always get written permission before probing any system.
• Alerting systems: In live environments, scans may trigger alarms — be careful.
• Log trails: If you don’t cover tracks properly (in an authorized test), you may cause confusion.

Aspects	Details
First Ethical Hacking Practice	U.S. Air Force security test (1974)
Invented / Term Coined By	IBM (1980s)
Key Pioneers	John Patrick (IBM), Dan Farmer & Wietse Venema
Main Uses	Network security, vulnerability testing, data protection, cybercrime prevention, compliance
Modern Recognition	Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) introduced by EC-Council

On A Final Note…

Ethical hacking is not about showmanship; it’s about responsibility, structure, and community. The more we share knowledge, the stronger our collective defence becomes.