How long to become an ethical hacker

What does a hacker look like? According to seemingly all stock images, they reside in dark rooms, wear hoodies, and their only light source is a computer screen - which is also their weapon of choice. This imagery is largely inspired by movies, such as The Matrix or the more recent Girl with the Dragon Tattoo , and should be taken with a grain of salt.

Modern hackers don't always fit this rather simplistic cliche. In reality, they could look just like the average person whom you would pass on the street, which is a key fact to remember when preventing social engineering hacks like shoulder surfing.

However, the image that a hacker is a shady figure in a dark room also negates the fact that not all are bad. Some are in it for the greater good. It's hard to believe, but some people dedicate their lives to preventing cyber attacks by actually conducting them.

Once successfully inside a system, however, they then inform the owner of any vulnerabilities. These types of hacking talent are in high demand, particularly with national security agencies.

The people that usually fill these roles are known as ' white hat hackers ' or occasionally 'ethical' hackers. The routes into this line of work varies; in the UK and the Netherlands , there are schemes that encourage code-savvy year-olds to take up ethical hacking challenges, with the aim of pushing them towards a white hacker role in the future.

Since the demand for ethical hackers far exceeds supply, salaries tend to be much higher than average IT roles , especially within the first year. However, the industry fights a constant tug of war, as those hackers motivated by financial reward will likely defect to criminal groups, given the potential financial reward. This is particularly true of those with intricate knowledge of protected industry secrets, which can be used against legitimate businesses.

Before delving any deeper, it's important to clear up any misconceptions of what an ethical hacker is, rather than making judgements on what's morally right and wrong. Jeff Schmidt, global head of business continuity , security and governance at BT, describes an ethical hacker as a computer security expert. They must specialise in penetration testing i. However, another expert in the field of cyber security , Conrad Constantine, a research team engineer at AlienVault, thinks the description of any role as a "hacker," whether ethical or not, is irrelevant.

But what the role is called is simply semantics. It could be we decide to refer to them as a white hat hacker or penetration tester. The important differentiator between an ethical hacker and a criminal hacker is that the former carries out security testing with the full consent of the company they are working on behalf of.

If they did not have permission, the offence would be punishable under the Computer Misuse Act. Ian Glover, chairman of CREST, prefers the penetration tester label and his definition goes a little further in that it recognises you need to be more than just a techie in order to truly fulfil the role.

Businesses have decided to adopt ethical hacking tools to secure essential documents, sensitive information and to keep their network safe from malicious hackers. Most organizations often hire ethical hackers to perform security measures on their behalf. The importance of ethical hacking in organizations includes:.

Due to the increased cases of network insecurities, businesses and organizations are trying to come up with ways to keep their networks safer. This has coerced organizations to employ ethical hackers who will help in keeping their network security in check.

The job market is up-and-coming for ethical hackers because the information technology industry is rapidly growing regardless of the economic problems. Before you become an ethical hacker, you should consider the following;. Would you like to train your employees about ethical hacking? Social engineering and physical penetration tests are also applicable skills. Many attacks begin with intel gathered using an extended social engineering campaign.

Knowledge of social engineering strategies and tactics can be very helpful in understanding the entire threatscape. Physical breaches to a server room or data center will also sometimes precede a digital attack. An understanding of what physical assets are vulnerable will help an ethical hacker identify the types and methods that are likely to be used in a real event.

Cybercriminals must become evermore innovative as security professionals deny them the use of their previous methods and tactics. Physical attacks, including the use of drones to sniff out unprotected networks, are becoming more frequently employed to gather intel and initiate cyberattacks. An ethical hacker must anticipate and simulate the use of traditional and non-traditional attack vectors to provide the most comprehensive threat analysis possible.

Typical work assignments for an ethical hacker include threat modeling, security assessments, vulnerability threat assessments VTA , and report writing. Assuredly the responsibilities of this role will vary from company to company but these staples will nearly always be included in the job description.

Threat modeling is a process used to optimize network security by identifying vulnerabilities and then determining countermeasures to prevent an attack or mitigate the effects of an attack against the system. In the context of threat modeling, a threat is a potential or actual adverse event that may be malicious such as a denial-of-service attack or incidental such as the failure of computer hardware , and that can compromise the assets of the enterprise.

An ethical hacker would contribute to this process by providing a comprehensive view of the possible malicious attacks and their resultant consequences for the organization. The objective of effective threat modeling is to conclude where the greatest focus should be to keep a system secure. This can change as new circumstances develop and become known, applications are added, removed, or improved, and user demands unfold.

Threat modeling is an iterative process that consists of defining assets, recognizing what each application does with respect to these assets, creating a security profile for each application, identifying potential threats, prioritizing potential threats, and documenting adverse events and the actions taken in each case. An ethical hacker, whether a pentester or a red team leader, will often be assigned the task of providing a security assessment. Simply put, an information security assessment is a risk-based measurement of the security posture of a system or enterprise.

They include checks for vulnerabilities related to the IT systems and business processes, as well as recommending steps to lower the risk of future attacks. Security assessments are also useful for determining how well security-related policies are adhered to. They help to shore up policies designed to prevent social engineering and can identify the need for additional or enhanced security training. Culminating in a report that identifies weaknesses and makes recommendations, the security assessment is an invaluable risk management tool.

A vulnerability threat assessment is a process used to identify, quantify, and rank the vulnerabilities relevant to a system along with the threats that could possibly exploit those vulnerabilities. While closely related to a security assessment, the VTA is conducted to identify and correlate specific threats and vulnerabilities.

The basic security assessment, described above, is used to identify vulnerabilities and evaluate the security posture of the enterprise independent of any specific threat.

The VTA is a more threat-based assessment. Examples of systems for which vulnerability threat assessments should be performed include, but are not limited to, information technology systems, energy supply systems, water supply systems, transportation systems, and communication systems. Such assessments may be conducted on behalf of a range of different organizations, from small businesses up to large regional or national infrastructure entities.

A crucial element for carrying out the assignments of an ethical hacker is the ability to write clear and concise professional reports. Gathering data, identifying vulnerabilities, and correlating threats are of little value if the appropriate information can not be articulated to risk management leaders. Reports submitted from the red team are often the impetus for significant security resource expenditures. Risk management professionals need to have total confidence in the findings of ethical hackers in their organization.

In some cases, an ethical hacker will be an outside consultant retained by a firm to provide the information needed to justify security expenditures for upper management or board of directors. In the world of security consulting, the report is the primary deliverable and is of the utmost importance. When considering possible professional certifications and educational opportunities to elevate a career to include ethical hacking, do not underestimate the importance of business writing expertise.

Being a member of an in-house red team or working as a freelance whitehat hacker are exciting vocations. As far as operations level positions go, they are highly sought after positions that can engender a level of respect and provide a degree of prestige within the cybersecurity community.

Ethical hacker jobs are necessary for the effective protection of networks, systems, and applications. This expertise is required throughout national infrastructure entities and to secure critical or sensitive data across all industries. For many, the term ethical hacker is an oxymoron. It indicates two opposing notions. Regardless of whether or not the word hacker is used in the job description, these jobs are not for the morally questionable and certainly not for anyone who has a history of being a bad actor.

Ethical hackers are necessarily privy to sensitive information, the divulging of which could be catastrophic for the enterprise.