Ethical hacking, also known as penetration testing or white-hat hacking, refers to the authorized and legal practice of probing computer systems, networks, applications, and devices to identify vulnerabilities and security weaknesses. Ethical hackers, often employed by organizations or hired as security consultants, use their skills and knowledge to improve the security posture of systems by uncovering potential threats before malicious attackers exploit them.

1. Authorized Access
• Ethical hackers perform their activities with explicit permission from the system owner or responsible authority, ensuring legality and adherence to ethical guidelines.
2. Tools and Techniques
• They utilize a wide array of tools and techniques to simulate attack scenarios, including network scanning, penetration testing, social engineering, and code analysis, among others.
3. Risk Mitigation
• Ethical hacking aims to assess and mitigate risks by identifying and addressing vulnerabilities before they can be exploited by malicious actors, thereby enhancing the overall security posture of a system.