Things to Know for Every Entry-Level Ethical Hacking Professionals
As the digital world is growing by the second, there is a constant need to protect and secure everything it encompasses. There has been a significant rise in cybercrimes making the company’s security vulnerable. To protect the company’s data from viruses, ransomware, worms, and malware, ethical hacking has become necessary.
What is Ethical Hacking?
Ethical Hacking aims at identifying a weak spot in a computer network. Thereby finding & developing methods for preventing attacks and securing the network. Ethical hacking gains unauthorized access to data on computers. Later it helps the business, or the individual identifies potential threats to their system.
Ethical hackers are also known as white hat hackers who learn and perform hacking professionally.
The client hires a white hat hacker to improve the security and minimize the potential attacks. Ethical hackers are also responsible for devising a game plan to safeguard government agencies, defence contractors, and others.
Rules Ethical Hacker must follow:-
- The individual must have written permission to explore the network where his responsibility is to identify potential security risks.
- It is the duty of the hacker to maintain & respect the company’s privacy while finding the weak spot.
- Before starting the task, the ethical hacker must inform software developers or hardware manufacturers. This is to understand whether there are any security vulnerabilities present in their software or hardware.
A career in Ethical hacking
- Learn your basics
You can start by learning languages like Python, Java, Ruby, C, C++, JavaScripts. It is better, to begin with, Python and JavaScript as it’s beneficial in the long run. If you are a beginner, start with C/C++ to clear the basics. The field is ever-evolving, so you need to keep yourself prepared accordingly.
The two important things for becoming an ethical hacker is staying on top of changes and good knowledge in scripting languages. Versatility & proficiency in multiple languages helps you with code injection and poisoning domains.
Now for learning, there are plenty of books, E-Degrees, videos available on various platforms.
- Next Step
For being a professional hacker, it is important to be certified. It would help if you had a Bachelor’s degree in Science, Technology, Engineering, Computer applications, Information Technology, or Computer Science. An advanced diploma or a master’s certificate in network security also can be chosen as a career path.
If you are interested in a graduate-level online course, you can check what EC-Council University offers.
Certifications & more
EC-Council
It is one of the most recognized resources to learn ethical hacking online. As mentioned above, EC-Council provides a graduate-level online certification program to help you become an ethical hacker. The course is a three-step process that involves:-
- Certified Network Defender
- Certified Ethical Hacker
- C|EH Practical
Please make sure you even check their Certified Hacking Forensic Investigator course!
Other certifications that can be quite useful in your ethical hacking journey are:
- GIAC Certified Penetration Tester (GPEN) by SAN and GIAC.
- Certified Intrusion Analyst (GCIA) which can improve your job prospects.
- Indian School of Ethical Hacking & NIIT also offers certification programs in ethical hacking.
- The Offensive Security Certified Professional (OSCP). This is a very technical certification and requires a deep understanding of the subject.
Necessary Skills For A Ethical Hacker
- Extensive knowledge in network security is essential to become an ethical hacker.
- Good working knowledge of Citrix and Microsoft Exchange, Microsoft and Linux servers, Cisco network switches, virtualization.
- The individual should be familiar with various operating systems and have a working knowledge of the latest penetration software.
- Basic hardware knowledge with good programming skills is necessary.
- You can’t be a good ethical hacker if you don’t develop your problem-solving skills.
- Other important skills include understanding database, cryptography and efficiency in reverse engineering.
One of the key factors to stand out as an ethical hacker is a practical knowledge. There are plenty of websites available online that hosts competitions. These sorts of competitions help you grasp the subject in a better fashion. You can even try working on Bug Bounties- these are websites that allow you to find bugs on their site. After you find bugs, they give you a small payment for your performance.
Future Scope
Big tycoons like Wipro, Infosys, TCS, IBM, TCS, Tech Mahindra, HCL, Airtel, Reliance hire good ethical hackers. The main recruiters are IT firms, but you can also get hired by airlines, financial service providers, retail chains and hotels.
Depending on how well you can perform, you can also join government agencies. This includes defence organisations, military and law enforcement, forensic laboratories, investigative services & detective companies.
Highly skilled hackers can even get a chance with the Central Bureau of Investigation, Federal Bureau of Information & the National Security Agency.
The growing threats have forced many companies to hire professional help to keep their security in place. Reports suggest that 29% of companies lost revenue due to a security breach. A Forrester Research concludes that there were 95% of breached records in 2016. It included sectors like government, retail, and technology. A study conducted by Indeed lists around 800+ active listings with salaries ranging between $70K to $120K.
According to a study conducted by the International Data Corp, there is a need for over 60,000 information security personnel worldwide. The number is expected to increase by 77,000 and 188,000 worldwide in the next few years.
A study conducted by Security magazine suggests there will be 3.5 million cybersecurity jobs in 2021.
The U.S. labour suggests an ethical hacker's salary is close to $100K per year. The field's job prospects are promising & assure a rapid growth of 28% compared to an average of 7%.
The decision
The field is massive, and it demands to be explored. Since the path is clear, all you need to be is extremely efficient in what you do. As long as digitization grows, Ethical hackers will always be needed.
