When you hear the word “hacker”, the first thing that comes to your mind is a criminal who targets organizations and makes them compromise their data integrity. While this is partly true, ethical hackers can greatly benefit your company, especially when you wish to retrieve lost data or enhance your security level. Although there are many ways to master ethical hacking, securing an ethical hacker certification is one of the foolproof ways.
What is Ethical Hacking?
Ethical hacking is the process of testing a system’s networks for exposure to any malicious threats or attacks that can cause significant financial losses or damages. The damages may transcend the financial element to impact the brand’s reputation and image.
Ethical hacking deploys the same methods that illegal hackers use to infiltrate computers systematically. The main difference is that ethical hackers obtain all permissions from authorized personnel to break the system and strengthen security against actual attacks.
Who is an Ethical Hacker?
An ethical hacker is a professional with cyber security certification who can identify system flaws and vulnerabilities by breaking into the system legally and ethically. They report the identified threats to the organizations to enable them to take prudent steps to prevent further damage to the data, network, and system. An ethical hacker can help organizations retrieve lost data and test the strength of system security.
An ethical hacker certification gives you the skills to get around firewalls, passwords, and access systems. But all system penetrations require adherence to the CEH (Certified Ethical Hacker) code of ethics.
What is Ethical Hacker Certification?
Ethical hacker certification is awarded to IT professionals who wish to pursue ethical hacking as a career. These professionals are qualified and trained to identify malicious plans and thwart their attacks.
The ethical hacker certification is offered by the International Council of E-Commerce Consultants (EC Council). The EC Council offers education, training, cybersecurity certification, and other cybersecurity services. In addition, the council works towards establishing standard guidelines and standards to regulate ethical hacking.
Career Benefits of Ethical Hacker Certification
There has been a considerable rise in cyberattacks that are costing organizations losses in millions of dollars. This increase can be attributed to the adoption of the latest technology and inadequate measures to secure the data. An ethical hacker can ensure adequate security measures that are essential to guarantee the security of data curated, stored, edited, and shared within the enterprise. With the massive increase in the demand for ethical hackers in the market, earning an ethical hacker certification will certainly be a fruitful endeavour for aspiring professionals.
The emergence of new and evolving spyware, malware, trojans, ransomware, and so on has driven the need for companies and government agencies to hire ethical hackers to safeguard their systems and networks. These threats have increased the demand for certified cyber security professionals in the IT industry globally.
According to the U.S Labor Department, the average salary of a certified ethical hacker is around $100K when compared to a programmer who gets around $84K. The job demand for cybersecurity professionals and ethical hackers is growing rapidly at around 28% when compared to the average growth rate for other IT job positions, which is 7%.
The main reasons why certified ethical hackers are much in demand in the job market are:
- They think from the angle of a real hacker – A CEH certification can give you deep insights into the hacking environment. It can help you think like a hacker, anticipate and prevent his malicious moves.
- Knowledge of hacking tools – CEH trained professionals have hands-on experience with all the latest hacking tools. The expertise on all the tools can cover most aspects of potential attacks and help significantly in curbing them.
- Future Prediction – A hacker with a CEH certification can handle visible vulnerabilities and predict future attacks by analyzing existing loopholes in the system.
- Comprehensive knowledge – Apart from system security, the ethical hacker certification trains the professional in all aspects of IT such as operating systems, programming languages, and communication skills. A certified individual is better prepared to build a full-proof security system for enterprises.
Conclusion
Kickstart your career as an ethical hacker by obtaining the ethical hacker certification. Enroll in a certified ethical hacker course from a reputable institute like Koenig Solutions and gain the theoretical and hands-on knowledge to become a certified ethical hacker, cybersecurity expert, or information security analyst in a top IT organization.
