Which of the following best describes ethical hacking?

Ethical hacking is best described as legally breaking into systems to improve security. This practice, often referred to as penetration testing or white-hat hacking, involves authorized attempts to exploit the vulnerabilities of a system to discover weaknesses that could be exploited by malicious hackers. The primary goal is to identify and rectify these vulnerabilities before they can be exploited in a real attack, thus significantly enhancing the overall security posture of the organization.

Ethical hackers follow a strict code of conduct and operate within the boundaries of the law, ensuring that their activities are sanctioned by the system owners. This proactive approach can lead to the development of more robust security measures and better defense mechanisms.

In contrast, breaking into systems for criminal purposes involves unauthorized access with malicious intent, while creating malware to exploit vulnerabilities focuses on harmful actions rather than improvement or protection. Developing security software, although related to cybersecurity, does not specifically encompass the action of testing and improving existing systems through ethical hacking practices.