Ethical Hacking & Cybersecurity

🚨 Course Title:

Advanced Ethical Hacking & Cybersecurity

"Break it to secure it. Real hacks. Real defenses."

🔐 Course Summary:

This practical and simulation-driven course dives deep into real-world cyber threats, giving learners a first-hand experience of how attacks happen — and how to defend against them. The curriculum avoids theory overload and instead focuses on real demonstrations like password cracking, data sniffing, virus creation, and defense strategies in action.

🔧 IT Requirements (For Participants):

• A laptop/PC with minimum 8GB RAM, 64-bit processor

• Windows 11, Ubuntu, or Kali Linux (VM-based setups preferred)

• VirtualBox / VMware with guest images for Kali & Windows

• Pre-installed tools: Nmap, Wireshark, Metasploit, Burp Suite, Python 3.8+

• Admin access to machine (for root-level commands and installations)

🧠 Interactive Curriculum:

• Foundations of Cybersecurity & Hacker Mindset
  Understand ethical hacking fundamentals, attack lifecycle, and motivations of malicious actors. Set up virtual hacking environments using Kali Linux and vulnerable targets.

• Reconnaissance & OSINT Mastery
  Learn passive and active info gathering using tools like Shodan, Maltego, Google Dorks, and WHOIS. Identify attack surfaces before making the first move — just like a real hacker.

• Vulnerability Scanning & Exploitation
  Hands-on with Nmap, Metasploit, Nikto, and manual scanning of systems and websites. Learn how hackers identify and exploit weak points in software and servers.

• Password Cracking & Privilege Escalation
  Crack Windows 11 passwords, extract hashes from the SAM file, and run brute-force attacks with John the Ripper and Hydra. Understand privilege escalation methods attackers use to gain admin access.

• Real-Time Network Attacks & Data Capture
  Perform live MITM (Man-in-the-Middle) attacks using tools like Wireshark, ARP spoofing, and SSLStrip. Sniff credentials, capture live traffic, and hijack sessions in real-time.

• Virus & Malware Creation (For Educational Use Only)
  Create simple keyloggers, reverse shells, and backdoors in Python and test them in sandboxed environments. Learn how payloads are crafted using tools like MSFVenom.

• Cyber Defense & Incident Response
  Learn how to set up firewalls, intrusion detection systems, log monitoring, and response planning. Defend against attacks and simulate live incident mitigation using tools like Snort and Wazuh.

🎯 Capstone Project (Live Cyberattack Simulation):

The course wraps up with a full-blown attack-defense simulation. Participants must plan, execute, and defend:

• Penetration of a virtual network

• Exfiltration of sensitive data

• Cracking user credentials

• Deploying malware in isolated environments

• Setting up defenses and writing a security report post-breach