Are you interested in living your life like one of those spies from Hollywood movies? Or are you an expert on the latest software tools and their loopholes as well? Then the career of ethical hackers might be perfect for you! However, to be successful, you will require to update your resume in a way that will catch the big tech’s eyes. Here are the top 10 mini-ethical hacking projects that aspirants should add to their resumes for better opportunities in getting ethical hacking jobs.
1. Packet Sniffer: Uncover Network Secrets
Packet sniffers monitor network traffic for suspicious activity. They also capture and analyze data packets that flow between devices within the same network, and monitor packets that are exchanged between networked devices and the internet. Building a packet sniffer is an opportunity to practice networking and programming skills. You can create a simple packet sniffer in Python with a socket module. After configuring your socket module to capture packets from the network, you’ll write Python scripts to extract those captured packets.
2. Keylogging: Understanding User Behavior
Keyloggers track each keyboard stroke on a device. While hackers use keyloggers to steal sensitive information, cybersecurity professionals use these applications to surveil user behavior and detect unusual activity. To build a keylogger software, download and install Python’s pynput library. With this library, you’ll be able to monitor keyboard and mouse inputs. You’ll also be able to deliver log keystrokes to a specific location—like an email, server, or local system storage. For a slightly more challenging project, try building a keylogger for a virtual keyboard.
3. Lost Data Recovery: Rescuing Valuable Information
Data recovery skills are vital to cyber incident response, as malware can corrupt, destroy, or manipulate data. Ransomware attacks encrypt a victim’s data and demand payment for decrypting the files. Outline a ransomware data recovery procedure to practice data retrieval skills. Focus on restoring the affected systems from a backup. Next, build a plan for using data recovery tools to extract corrupted or deleted data from storage devices.
4. SQL Injection: Defending Against Database Attacks
SQL injections are attack vectors that use malicious SQL code to manipulate back-end databases. Hackers use SQL injections to access private information and commandeer administrative rights to a database. To practice SQL injection vulnerability remediation, set up a virtual machine by signing up for a free-tier Amazon Web Services account. Then practice executing SQL injection using an authorized educational website. Once you uncover the website’s vulnerabilities, figure out how to fix them by editing the PHP files on your virtual machine. Write up an SQL vulnerability assessment with security recommendations to summarize your findings.
5. Security Assessment Report on an Existing Website: Evaluating Vulnerabilities
This project resembles a routine audit conducted by a security team. Before you begin, be sure to obtain permission to analyze an existing website. Or, consider using your own website. First, collect and analyze data to identify vulnerabilities. Document the scope of each security issue and how you assessed it. Prioritize each risk according to severity. Include an executive summary accessible to non-technical readers. Strive for brevity.
6. Build Your Own Encryption Software: Securing Data
Encryption is a cybersecurity technique that scrambles and encodes private data. Authorized users can decrypt data using an encryption key. Working with text encryption—which uses cryptographic algorithms to convert text data into a cipher or hash code—will help you analyze the structure of commonly used encryption algorithms like Caesar Cipher, Beaufort Cipher, and Autokey Cipher. Try building your own text encryption software, or create an app to encrypt files using existing algorithms. Use the Amazon Web Services Encryption Software Development Kit to implement encryption in an application. Once you’re comfortable with text encryption, try your hand at image encryption.
7. Create a Cybersecurity Policy from Scratch: Protecting Organizations
Cybersecurity policies document technical and behavioral recommendations. This is done to codify cybersecurity practices and guide an organization’s cybersecurity posture. To create a cybersecurity policy from scratch, identify and prioritize the organization’s assets and risks. Outline the protocols and procedures that will safeguard these assets, and explain how security vulnerabilities will be neutralized. Create an incident response plan and assess relevant cybersecurity regulations to build a compliant policy.
8. Hacking an Android Phone: Mastering Mobile Security
Organizations hire ethical hackers to uncover vulnerabilities in a system or application. Hone your ethical hacking skills and advance your knowledge of application security with Android, the world’s most popular operating system. This project will teach you the basics of Android penetration testing and help you learn to locate vulnerabilities in Android applications. Because Android is a Linux-based operating system, you’ll get the chance to build experience with Kali Linux, an advanced penetration testing Linux distribution used for ethical hacking.
9. Security Questions: Evaluating User Security
If you plan to pick one of the hassle-free mini projects on Cybersecurity, this one fits your requirement. This survey project expects you to collect information and accordingly examine if a website’s security questions are secure. Collect data from people if they use different passwords for different accounts and what are typically asked security questions.
10. Hacking an Offline Device: Protecting the Unconnected
Collect information on the number of ways that an intruder can illegally access a device that is not connected to the internet. The report can contain the methods to secure their devices like mobile phones, tablets, laptops, and desktops. It will make an outstanding contribution to the list of Cybersecurity mini-projects.
These 10 mini-projects will not only enhance your ethical hacking skills but also make your resume stand out in the competitive field of cybersecurity. So, roll up your sleeves and embark on these exciting challenges to become a cybersecurity expert!