The Complete Ethical Hacking Course

Updated in May 2025. This course now features Coursera Coach! A smarter way to learn with interactive, real-time conversations that help you test your knowledge, challenge assumptions, and deepen your understanding as you progress through the course. This comprehensive course covers advanced web security exploits, Python scripting for ethical hacking, and network attacks, preparing learners for the most sophisticated cybersecurity challenges. By understanding SQL injection, utilizing Python for automation, and mastering key penetration testing tools, you’ll be equipped to assess, exploit, and protect web applications, systems, and networks. Through real-world applications, the course also explores Python’s role in ethical hacking, enabling you to script customized tools and automate attacks. The course begins with SQL fundamentals, where you’ll explore databases, relational structures, and SQL commands, laying a foundation for SQL injection techniques. You'll learn how to exploit common SQL injection vulnerabilities, including methods to retrieve passwords, database names, and full datasets. After mastering SQL injection, we dive into essential website penetration testing tools like sqlmap and ZAP, which automate vulnerability detection and help you conduct comprehensive security assessments on web applications. Python scripting is a major focus, where you’ll build a solid understanding of data types, structures, control statements, and functions in Python. Using this knowledge, you will develop custom scripts for ethical hacking, automate tasks like network scanning, and create tools to identify and exploit vulnerabilities. Additionally, the course explores advanced topics such as AI hacking and large language models (LLMs), offering unique approaches to manipulating AI systems and executing prompt injections. This course is suitable for intermediate learners in cybersecurity and penetration testing who are familiar with basic network concepts and web security. It’s perfect for those interested in pursuing certifications such as CEH or OSCP. Python and scripting knowledge is encouraged, but the course offers beginner-level content in Python to help you build the necessary skills.

Updated in May 2025. This course now features Coursera Coach! A smarter way to learn with interactive, real-time conversations that help you test your knowledge, challenge assumptions, and deepen your understanding as you progress through the course. This course provides a comprehensive introduction to ethical hacking and network security. By completing this course, learners will acquire the foundational skills necessary to secure networks and systems, along with the hands-on experience to implement key cybersecurity techniques. With practical lessons on setting up hacking labs, using Kali Linux, and performing penetration testing, students will be well-equipped to identify and mitigate network vulnerabilities. The journey begins with setting up your ethical hacking environment, including installing and configuring Virtualbox and Kali Linux on both Windows and Mac devices. From there, learners will dive into Kali Linux fundamentals, ensuring they are comfortable navigating the system, managing files, and using essential tools for ethical hacking. The course progresses to more complex topics such as maintaining online anonymity, exploring the dark web, and network penetration testing, all while developing a strong foundation in practical, real-world security techniques. The course takes a deep dive into various areas of cybersecurity, such as network sniffing, wireless attacks, post-connection attacks, and system penetration testing. These are complemented by detailed instructions on using tools like nMap, Wireshark, Bettercap, and Metasploit. Ethical hacking practices are enhanced with key exercises on wireless encryption cracking, sniffing passwords, and executing ARP poisoning. By the end of the course, students will have hands-on experience that prepares them for real-world ethical hacking scenarios. This course is ideal for anyone interested in cybersecurity, penetration testing, or ethical hacking. Beginners in the field will benefit from the thorough breakdown of core concepts and practical skills. No prior knowledge of ethical hacking or network security is required, though familiarity with basic computer systems and networks is helpful. The course is beginner-friendly, with plenty of opportunities for hands-on learning.

Updated in May 2025. This course now features Coursera Coach! A smarter way to learn with interactive, real-time conversations that help you test your knowledge, challenge assumptions, and deepen your understanding as you progress through the course. This course provides an advanced exploration of exploit development, malware creation, and defensive strategies in ethical hacking. By delving into object-oriented programming, building backdoors, creating malicious payloads, and analyzing network traffic, learners will gain hands-on experience in crafting cybersecurity tools and deploying them for real-world testing. The course also highlights defensive tactics, equipping learners with the skills necessary to protect systems from the very exploits they learn to develop. The course starts with Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) in Python, where students will learn how to define and use classes and methods, implement inheritance, and handle errors. This foundational knowledge is crucial for creating robust scripts for ethical hacking tasks. Next, we cover the creation and manipulation of backdoors, teaching students how to write listener scripts, send commands remotely, and encode communications for stealth. This leads into malware analysis, with lessons on creating and packaging malicious files, configuring them to run on system startup, and using tools like Regedit to modify system configurations. In addition to offensive techniques, the course also explores key defensive strategies like packet listening and Man-in-the-Middle (MITM) attacks. Students will learn how to capture network traffic using Wireshark, create ARP poisoning attacks, and build tools for network scanning and keylogging. The inclusion of real-world case studies and practical projects provides students with a comprehensive understanding of both the attack and defense sides of cybersecurity, preparing them for certifications and advanced roles in penetration testing and ethical hacking. This course is designed for intermediate to advanced learners in cybersecurity, penetration testing, and exploit development. Knowledge of Python programming and networking concepts is beneficial but not required. The content is suitable for professionals aiming to specialize in malware analysis, exploit development, or defensive cybersecurity strategies.