Ethical Hacking course curriculum

 

Here is a comprehensive Ethical Hacking course curriculum suitable for beginners to intermediate learners, designed to build a solid foundation in cybersecurity and offensive security practices. This structure can be adapted for self-study, classroom training, or online courses.

🔐 Ethical Hacking Course Curriculum

1. Introduction to Ethical Hacking

  • What is hacking? Types of hackers (White Hat, Black Hat, Grey Hat)

  • Legal and ethical issues

  • Cybercrime laws and frameworks (e.g., GDPR, IT Act, HIPAA)

  • Roles and responsibilities of an ethical hacker

  • Scope and career paths in cybersecurity

2. Networking Fundamentals

  • TCP/IP, UDP, DNS, DHCP, NAT, MAC & IP addressing

  • OSI Model – layers and data flow

  • Ports and protocols (HTTP, FTP, SMTP, etc.)

  • Subnetting, routing, and packet analysis

  • Network devices: routers, switches, firewalls

3. Footprinting and Reconnaissance

  • Types: Passive vs. Active reconnaissance

  • WHOIS lookups, DNS enumeration, email harvesting

  • Tools: Nslookup, Maltego, Recon-ng, Google Dorking

  • Social engineering basics

4. Scanning and Enumeration

  • Network scanning: ping sweep, port scanning

  • Tools: Nmap, Netcat, Angry IP Scanner

  • OS detection and service enumeration

  • Vulnerability scanning tools: Nessus, OpenVAS

5. System Hacking

  • Password cracking techniques: brute force, dictionary attacks

  • Privilege escalation

  • Keyloggers, spyware, and rootkits

  • Tools: John the Ripper, Mimikatz, Cain & Abel

6. Malware Threats

  • Types of malware: virus, worm, trojan, ransomware

  • How malware spreads and executes

  • Analyzing and detecting malware

  • Tools: VirusTotal, REMnux, Cuckoo Sandbox

7. Sniffing and Packet Analysis

  • What is sniffing and how it works

  • ARP poisoning, MAC flooding

  • Tools: Wireshark, tcpdump, Ettercap

  • Detection and prevention techniques

8. Social Engineering

  • Phishing, baiting, pretexting, tailgating

  • Email and phone scams

  • Human vulnerabilities

  • Tools: SET (Social Engineering Toolkit)

9. Denial of Service (DoS & DDoS)

  • Types of DoS/DDoS attacks

  • Tools: LOIC, HOIC, hping3

  • Mitigation strategies and best practices

10. Session Hijacking

  • TCP/IP session hijacking

  • Tools and techniques: Ettercap, Burp Suite

  • Countermeasures and detection

11. Web Application Hacking

  • OWASP Top 10 (XSS, SQL Injection, CSRF, etc.)

  • Vulnerability scanning tools: OWASP ZAP, Nikto, Burp Suite

  • Exploiting web vulnerabilities

  • Secure coding practices

12. Wireless Network Hacking

  • Wireless encryption: WEP, WPA, WPA2, WPA3

  • Attacks: Evil twin, deauthentication, cracking WPA handshake

  • Tools: Aircrack-ng, WiFi Pineapple, Kismet

13. Evading IDS, Firewalls, and Honeypots

  • Understanding detection systems

  • Evasion techniques

  • Tunneling and packet crafting tools: Scapy, Nmap, ProxyChains

14. Buffer Overflow Exploitation

  • Stack-based buffer overflow basics

  • Writing simple exploits

  • Tools: Immunity Debugger, GDB, Metasploit

15. Cryptography and Steganography

  • Basics of encryption and hashing (AES, RSA, SHA)

  • Encoding vs. encryption vs. hashing

  • Steganography tools: Steghide, OpenStego

  • Cryptanalysis and cracking encrypted files

16. Penetration Testing Process

  • Phases: Planning, scanning, gaining access, maintaining access, reporting

  • Creating vulnerability and pen-testing reports

  • Lab setup using Kali Linux, Parrot OS, Metasploitable, DVWA

17. Tools and Frameworks

  • Kali Linux / Parrot OS

  • Metasploit Framework

  • Burp Suite, Nikto, Hydra, Nmap, Wireshark

18. Capstone Project / Hands-on Labs

  • Real-world simulated attacks in controlled environments

  • Report writing and remediation planning

  • Practice platforms: TryHackMe, Hack The Box, VulnHub

🧰 Optional Add-ons (Advanced Topics)

  • Cloud security (AWS, Azure)

  • Mobile app pentesting (Android/iOS)

  • Reverse engineering and exploit development

  • Red Team vs. Blue Team exercises

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