Ethical Hacking is a legal activity that aims to analyse and collect information to secure the network system or applications of any organisations or company. The person who is interested to know the computer terminologies, codes, programs and languages can choose Ethical Hacking as their career. They should also possess Network traffic sniffing, SQL injection, Session hijacking and spoofing, orchestrate various network attacks, DNS spoofing, exploit buffer overflow vulnerabilities and Password guessing and cracking.
There are set rules for ethical hacking such as:
- Before hacking the system, there should be written permission to explore the network and to identify the security risks.
- Before starting the hacking, the hacker must inform the corresponding hardware manufacturers or software developers to inform the security threat in their software or hardware.
- The ethical hacker must keep up the privacy of the company while hacking the system.
- After accomplishing the hacking, the hacker does not leave anything so that someone can intrude in it.
The ethical hackers have a lot of career opportunities in many sectors.
The bachelor’s degree is an important qualification for an ethical hacker. The degree will be a B.Sc., B. Tech, BCA and B.E. in Computer science or Information technology. There are many educational courses for Ethical Hacking. Some of them are listed below.
- M.Tech. Information Security
- CISM course
- OSCP course
- B.Sc. in Networking and Security
- CISSP course
- M.Tech. Cyber Laws and Information Security
- B.Tech. IT & Cyber Security
- M.Tech. Computer Science and Information Security
- CEH (Certified Ethical Hacker) course
- B.Tech. Cyber Security and Forensic
- SSCP course
- CISA course
- M.Tech. CSE (Information Security)
Syllabus Area
The subjects that commonly come under Ethical Hacking courses are as follows:
- Cyber Ethics-Hacking Introduction
- Information Gathering 1
- Information Gathering 2
- Scanning 1
- Scanning 2
- Google Hacking Database
- Virus, Worms – Virus Analysis
- Trojans & Backdoors
- Sniffers & keyloggers
- Social Engineering
- Email, DNS, IP spoofing
- HoneyPots
- System Hacking & Security
- Vulnerability Research
- SQL Injection 1
- SQL Injection 2
- XSS Attacks & Countermeasures
- LFI/ RFI Attacks & Countermeasures
- Information Disclosure Vulnerabilities
- Buffer Overflow & Session Hijacking Attacks
- Vulnerability Assessment & Penetration Testing
- Exploit Writing
- Secure Coding Practices
- Wireless Hacking & Security
- SMS Forging & Countermeasures
- VoIP Hacking & Countermeasures
Career Prospects of Ethical Hacking
There are many career opportunities for ethical hackers due to the growing cases of computer hacking by black hat hackers. The job opportunities are available at both the public and private sectors. The banks, companies, financial and government institutions hire ethical hackers to find out the vulnerabilities and the possible leakages in of their computer or network system.
Main recruiters
- MNCs
- IT firms
- Consultancies
- Tech firms
- Government organizations
Among these recruiters, IT companies are the main recruiters of ethical hackers. The major companies like Wipro, Airtel, Tech Mahindra, IBM, HCL etc. search for good hackers to prevent the possible security risks.
The government agencies such as defence organisation, detective companies, Forensic laboratories military wings etc. provides various challenging job roles for ethical hackers.
Graduates in this field of study can start their business venture for providing the ethical hacking services to various departments under various designations, such as Security Auditor, Web security Administrator/Manager, Information Security Manager, Forensics Investigator etc.
The aspirants who wish to build their career in ethical hacking can find their employment opportunities in the following field.
- Security Analyst
- Penetration Tester
- Ethical Hacker
- Information Security Analyst
- Security Consultant, (Computing / Networking / Information Technology)
- Information Security Manager
- Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH)
- Forensic Investigator
- Security Certified Programmer
- Computer Forensics Investigator
- Security Auditor
- Web security Administrator/Manager
- Network Security Engineer
- Network Security System Administrator/Manager
The individual who is interested in coding and can solve the problems and interested in ethical hacking service can select the field as their career as it has lots of possibilities in the coming years.
