Abstract
This study focuses on ethical hacking practices aimed at enhancing the security of digital assets, with particular emphasis on red-team operations and associated remediation strategies. It highlights the necessity of proactive security measures in response to evolving cyber threats, emphasising the importance of timely vulnerability remediation. The primary objective of this research is to evaluate ethical hacking practices through a representative red-team engagement based on recognised penetration-testing standards. The experiment was conducted within a controlled personal network and a virtualised environment. The chapter presents the installation and configuration of the required security tools, the execution of red-team activities, and the vulnerability-scanning process carried out using Nessus. In addition, mitigation strategies are proposed for the identified security weaknesses, with particular attention given to vulnerabilities associated with exposed or misconfigured network ports.