An ethical hacker tests a security system on behalf of its owners by attempting to find and report vulnerabilities that a malicious hacker could exploit using the same methods. Ethical hacking, also known as penetration testing or intrusion testing, involves attacking a target system in various ways such as exploiting software vulnerabilities, misconfigurations, or abusing trust to assess security. While it began in government and technology sectors, ethical hacking is increasingly common outside these fields as many large companies maintain ethical hacking teams.