Why is Python used for hacking?

In this article, we will learn why is the Python programming language recommended for learning to hack.

What is Ethical Hacking?

Ethical hacking is an authorized attempt to legally break into a company’s defence system. Many firms may hire ethical hackers to find problems in their systems.

Ethical hacking is used to scan vulnerabilities and find potential threats on a computer/network. An ethical hacker identifies and reports weak points or vulnerabilities in a computer, web application, or network to the company.

Ethical hacking, often known as penetration testing, can fix security issues before a harmful attacker can exploit them.

Because of the increase in cybercrime, firms must constantly update their hack-prevention strategies. As a result, businesses hire ethical hackers to protect their systems, apps, and data.

How Do Ethical Hackers Use Python?

Its open-source libraries are extremely beneficial for hacking because it is a basic yet powerful scripting language. Python has been used by ethical hackers to generate password cracking, brute force scripts, sniffing, and information-gathering tools.

Python allows ethical hackers to cross-examine simple functions and variables since its language is more accessible than Java programs. As a result, it aids ethical hackers in looking for a language with a clear and simple code style and syntax.

Why Is Python a Good Language for Ethical Hacking?

The following are the four key reasons why ethical hackers prefer Python −

• Python Libraries − Ethical hackers may easily access libraries such as NetworkX, NAPALM, and Pulsar.

• Small Scripts − Python's programming language is ideal for ethical hackers creating short programs due to its high performance.

• Large Community − All programming-related issues can be resolved by a large community of Python users.

• Job Opportunities − Learning Python's programming language provides a great opportunity for ethical hackers.

Why Must You Learn Python for Hacking?

Python is an open-source language that is simple to understand and write, and it is one of the most popular languages on GitHub. Whether you are a white hat hacker, security professional, penetration tester, grey hat hacker, black hat hacker, or corporate hacker, there are numerous reasons to learn Python.

Open Source

Like Linux, python language was established as a free and open-source tool. Because of the nature of the programming language, it has a strong community of dedicated developers who maintain and advance the language. Moreover, being open source allows you to access a larger range of resources for finding information when you need it.

Large library

You must be able to work rapidly to be a good hacker. Python's vast library provides speed. Knowing how to use libraries will make your hacking process a lot easier. Learning Python libraries can benefit everyone, from a chief information security officer to a security architect to a successful hacker.

Moreover, Python features a huge third-party library to help hackers do their work quickly. Allowing the hacker to work without being identified by antivirus software or intrusion detection systems is one example. A Python module can assist hackers in preventing security issues and ensuring that any successful attack tactic never occurs again.

Various Other Uses

As a hacker, you can perform any assignment if you have a thorough understanding of the computer language. This programming language is useful for a variety of activities, including host discovery, malware analysis, packet decoding and transmission, port scanning, server access, and network scanning. Python is also well-suited to task automation, scripting, and data analysis.

Ethical hackers speed up the scanning process by using modern operating systems, which Python libraries can also aid with. They are among the best network hacking tools available and can help credential harvesters and other bad actors who hack for financial gain succeed.

Best Python for Hacking Libraries

Python has a simple syntax and a variety of libraries to help in the hacking process. Libraries for several areas are provided, including the PI touch intensive loop for artificial intelligence, ScaPy for hacking, pandas, and matplotlib for data science.

The following are some of the most important Python hacking libraries −

• Scapy.
• Cryptography.
• Requests.
• Python-nmap.
• Pylibnet.

These are some of the most used libraries, and there are numerous methods to use them. For eg: Requests, makes HTTP requests more user-friendly and receive hundreds of thousands of downloads per day. The planet is also used to create and inject network packets.

Many ethical hackers employ cryptography as a library to streamline the process with message digests, symmetric ciphers, and key derivation tools. There are also more libraries available, such as RawSocketPy, which facilitates communication with MAC addresses easier.

Example of Ethical Hacking Using Python

Passwords are one of the most common examples of ethical hacking with Python. A secure password will never be displayed in plain text. An authentication system, on the other hand, uses password hashes.

In Python, a user can compare the hashed password of a specific database (input hashed) to the plain text password's hashed(md5) password. Passwords can be examined in plain text when a match is detected.

If no matching password is found in the database, Python will display a "password is not found" message. This type of ethical Python hacking is also known as a "dictionary attack."

How Python Became Hackers’ Favorite Language Choice?

While Python is quickly becoming the language of choice for developers, it is also popular among hackers. The language has some essential characteristics that make it very suitable for hacking. Hackers take advantage of the powerful capabilities provided by pre-built libraries.

A substantial number of people learn Python just for hacking. It is an appealing alternative for any developer due to its simplicity, flexibility, and somewhat easier learning curve. The Economist has performed a study to determine the popularity of the language among hackers.

Hackers can use other scripting languages such as BASH, Perl, and Ruby, but Python has an advantage. The language includes pre-built libraries as well as over 1000 modules. A Python-based tool attacks 77% of all websites on the internet.

Python Modules

Built-in data types, exception handling, math, and numeric modules, file handling, cryptographic services, internet data handling, and interface with IPs are all features of standard libraries and modules.

Third-party modules are always available to hackers, and there is a huge list of third-party modules available for Python. Urllib and Python Requests are the most commonly used modules for web attacks.

Known exploits

The benefit of utilizing an open-source language is that hackers are aware of important exploits and vulnerabilities. The most common attacks in the recent two months targeted a PHP-based Remote Code Execution vulnerability (CVE-2017-9841) in the PHPUnit framework and another Remote Code Execution vulnerability (CVE-2015-8562) in Joomla.

Attack vectors

Python, unlike other clients, has a unique collection of attack vendors. The most frequently used HTTP parameter value is a backdoor upload attempt using Json deserialize, which employs the DatabaseDriverMysqli object. ICG-AuthExploiterBot is the backdoor payload that was uploaded. There are a variety of assault vendors to think about.

How to Protect

If you have an exposed web app, server, or website, a hacker is likely utilizing a Python tool to break into your server. With the power of GitHub repositories, any hacker can easily gain access to your server. You must assure security while developing, keep the system updated, and avoid any practice that is regarded as insecure.

Conclusion

Because of the software's simplicity, ethical hacking with Python is becoming increasingly popular. Python has 700 programming languages that are ideal for tiny script development for both beginners and professionals.

Furthermore, Python libraries like Pulsar are extremely accessible to any ethical hacker. The Python community is a friendly place for any ethical hacking questions, which also opens doors to job opportunities.