How to become a Certified Ethical Hacker

How to become a Certified Ethical Hacker

Does becoming an ethical hacker interest you? If it does, this post will show you how to become one, including the training and certification programs you need to complete.

Read on to find out, but first …

Who is an Ethical Hacker?

An ethical hacker is a specialist who finds computer security complex issues and rectifies them through assessment of the security of computer systems.

Instead of sending virus to the computer system with the aim of damaging important data and files just as black hat hackers do, white hat hackers rather find solutions to the defective system.

Educational Requirements and Career Pathway

To become an ethical hacker, you can join the military service if you have not started an IT career. The military offers a variety of IT opportunities, and you will get paid while you attend school, even though you enlist in a part-time branch such as the Reserves or National Guard.

There is no special educational requirement to become an ethical hacker; skills and experience are more important in ethical hacking than educational qualification.

Training for Ethical Hackers

Training will prove your competence and channel your career towards success. You should think of this if you truly want to become a more experienced and skilled ethical hacker.

See some training programs for ethical hacker career:

• Offensive Security Training Courses

Offensive Security has training program in which there are different security courses involved, providing information for the security industry.

• The Penetration Testing With Kali Linux Online Security Training (PWK)

Designed for network administrators and security pros, Penetration Testing is an ethical hacking course run by Offensive Security.

The Penetration Testing training introduces the most current tools and techniques needed for simulating a complete test from the beginning to the ending.

There is an opportunity of gaining hands-on experience by making a way into a vulnerable network.

To purchase the ‘Penetration Testing with Kali Linux’ (PWK), you will need an investment of $800.00 in order to gain access to one of the most respected Information Security Training Courses in the security industry.

After you have successfully completed the 24-hour certification exam, you will be awarded an Offensive Security Certified Professional (OSCP) certification.

• The Offensive Security Wireless Attacks Online Security Training (WiFu)

This is about the concepts of wireless networking and conducting efficacious hostile moves against wireless networks of different configurations.

By this way you are securing wireless networks, after you have identified the attacking system and advancing towards providing protection on the wireless infrastructural networks.

The course provides the capacity to wisely initiate a wireless security assessment as a necessary skill to be acquired, whether you are an ethical hacker or a network administrator.

The course requires a purchase of a self-owned wireless hardware known to work the WiFu course on Offensive Security Wireless Attacks course page, after the initial investment of $450.00 for the Information Security Training Course.

After completing the 4-hour certification exam successfully, you will be issued an Offensive Security Wireless Professional (OSWP) certification.

• ‘Cracking the Perimeter’ Online Security Training (CTP)

The ‘Cracking the Perimeter’ (CTP) course requires all the skills acquired in the Penetration Testing with Kali Linux course to be explored by exposing students to a differently challenging lab environment.

The ‘Cracking the Perimeter’ course starts at $1,200.00 and it is a do-it-yourself online Information Security Training Course with penetration testing labs assigned to every student for practicing their skills legally and securely.

After a successful completion of ‘Cracking the Perimeter’ (CTP) 48-hour certification exam, an Offensive Security Certified Expert (OSCE) certification will be awarded to you.

How to Obtain Certification as an Ethical Hacker

Certified ethical hackers have more employment opportunity than non-certified ones.

You must excel during exam in order to receive certification from the certifying authority.

The three main IT security certifications for ethical hackers include:

• Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH)
• GIAC (Global Information Assurance Certification)
• Offensive Security Certified Professional (OSCP)

The International Council of Electronic Commerce Consultants (EC-Council) Certification

EC-Council has an organized certification program that certifies people in different electronic and information security skills.

The owner and founder of certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) is the same over EC-Council Certified Security Analyst (ECSA)/License Penetration Tester (LPT) certifications and Computer Hacking Forensics Investigator (CHFI), and many other certifications offered in over 87 countries.

Purchasing an EC-Council exam voucher requires that you first send an application to EC-Council.

If you succeed, you will be instructed to visit the EC-Council web store. Registration guide and exam vouchers will be sent to you. It costs a non-refundable $100.00 registration fee for EC-Council certification program.

Job Duties and Responsibilities of Ethical Hackers

Here are the major duties and responsibilities of a certified ethical hacker:

• Scanning Ports and seeking vulnerabilities for mitigation purpose
• Examining patch installations
• Engaging in social engineering concept such as ‘Dumpster diving’.
• Making training available as part of a company’s security awareness and training program
• Keeping security procedures and policies updated
• Co-working with developers to provide advice on security requirements and needs
• Providing feedback for an organization fixing security issues
• Making new penetration tests and tools.

Employment Opportunities for Ethical Hackers

Ethical Hackers can be employed by big corporations like Apple, Facebook, government and Law Enforcement Agencies to find and exploit vulnerabilities.

Employment with government groups such as the Homeland Security or Departments of Defense requires earning a security clearance, which involves excelling in extensive background check.

The Average Income for Ethical Hackers

The first year of ethical hackers can yield them an opportunity of earning from $50,000 to $100,000 every year.

The average income of an information security analyst in the U.S. is over $90,000 per year. An ethical hacker with IT security experience can earn above $100,000 per year, depending on personal qualities.

According to Payscale, an ethical hacker in 2014 earned $71,929. But in accumulation of bonuses, tips, annual salary, profit sharing, commissions, overtime payment and other ways by which cash can be generated, ethical hackers can expect from $44,220 to $117,398.

Conclusion

To become an ethical hacker requires completing certain training programs and certifications.

If you are interested in this career, the information in this post will be useful to you.

Did you gain the knowledge you need to become a certified ethical hacker from this post? Do leave a comment in the box below on your thought about this article.