Ethical Hacking 101: How Attackers Think and How to Defend

Ethical hacking is the practice of testing systems the way an attacker would, with permission, so weaknesses can be fixed before someone malicious finds them. In this class you'll learn the mindset and the method: the legal boundaries that separate security testing from crime, the phases of a professional penetration test, the vulnerability classes that show up again and again in web applications, and how to turn findings into a report that leads to real fixes.

This class is for beginners curious about a security career, developers who want to write safer code, and IT staff who want to understand how attackers approach their systems. You should be comfortable using a computer and installing software; no prior security or programming experience is required.

You'll build a fully isolated home lab with intentionally vulnerable practice applications, explore it methodically, and finish with a professional-style findings report. Everything in this class is defensive and stays inside environments you own and are authorized to test.

Set up a legal practice lab on your own computer and produce a short penetration test report for an intentionally vulnerable application such as OWASP Juice Shop or DVWA.

• A one-paragraph scope and rules-of-engagement statement for your lab
• A simple diagram showing how the lab is isolated from your home network
• At least three findings mapped to OWASP Top 10 categories, each with impact, severity, and a recommended fix
• An executive summary written for a non-technical reader