ethical hacking :: Excellence is not a skill; it is an attitude.” – Ralph Marston (Football Player)
Most hackers excel at what they do, and their skills speak for themselves. They keep on learning and implementing that acquired knowledge to ascertain their objective. They can break into a network system, steal information, misguide and misdirect, shut down the whole network, or even infiltrate the cyber-space of a country. In this time and age, where everything is online, their skills have infinite usage. However, not all hackers look to utilize their skills for the better.
That is why many individuals and organizations, whether it is a private, business, or government, small or large, are all looking to hire an online hacker. In the past decade or so, the need for these hackers has grown subsequently. But before one considers cashing the opportunity, they should be aware of the concept of ethical hacking. Here is something to help you out.
Ethical Hacking: Meaning!
Hacking is an act where an individual, using his knowledge and skills, breaks into a system without any authorization. Essentially, an intruder or trespasser in your computer or network. This individual is called a hacker.
There are mainly three types of hackers: black hats, white hats, and grey hats. Black hats are the type of hackers who use their skills with malicious intent. White hats are hackers who work against black hats.
Ethical hacking is an act where an individual, using his skills as a hacker, tries to infiltrate into network, system, and servers, with the consent of the organization to assess their security. This particular individual is called an ethical hacker, which is a sub-category of white hat hackers.
Ethical Hackers: Who?
Anyone who is looking to be an ethical hacker must have an honest interest in computers. Having knowledge and skills comes in second. Knowledge and skills can be acquired anytime, but only when the individual has a real interest in them.
The individual should also acquire knowledge about basic programming languages such as C, C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, Python, Perl, Ruby, PHP, .NET, R, etc.
Ethical Hacker: How?
Nowadays, thanks to the boom in the requirement of hackers, it has become pretty easy to identify oneself as an ethical hacker. The most common and easiest method is by applying for one of the following certificate courses.
- CEH: Certified Ethical Hacker is a qualification that is obtained by demonstrating one’s skill. They are mainly done by assessing the security of a system via locating vulnerabilities.
- GIAC/GPEN: Global Information Assurance Certification (GIAC) Penetration Tester (GPEN), is a certificate that validates the individual’s ability to conduct a penetration test.
- OSCP: According to Wikipedia, “Offensive Security Certified Professional is an ethical hacking certification offered by Offensive Security that teaches penetration testing methodologies and the use of the tools included with the Kali Linux distribution.”
Ethical Hacking: Prospects!
There are multiple job prospects in ethical hacking. Some of them are as follows:
- Information Technology Security
- IT Security Analyst
- IT Security Manager
- Penetration Tester
- Employee
- Freelancer
- Security Consultant
- Computer Security Consultant
- Networking Consultant
- IT Consultant
- Bug Bounty Hunter
- A hacker, who looks to earn form bug bounty programs. These programs are issued by many organizations such as Google and Facebook.
People hire online hackers to maintain their security. However, due to the negative-general image of hackers, people are still reluctant to trust them. This becomes a hurdle that affects both the hacker and the hirer. It is the hacker’s job to demonstrate his skills to locate bugs, glitches, and loopholes in a program and network system, and gain the trust of the hirer. And, it is the hirer’s job to find the right person for the job, and have faith in him after that. A job in ethical hacking demands both hacking skills and personal ethics.
