Ethical Hacking: Scope and future ahead

Aspiring for a career in Ethical hacking? Read the article below to know about the future of Ethical hacking, eligibility, courses, syllabus, job profiles, and payscale.

Hacking can be defined as to gain unauthorized access to any computer system and performing malicious activities. After getting access to a system, the hacker may delete system files and also steal sensitive information. Hacking done without permission is illegal whereas hacking done with permission comes under Ethical Hacking and is done to find out vulnerabilities in one’s computer system. Ethical hackers are often hired by renowned software companies to hack into their system/servers to find vulnerabilities and weak endpoints so that they can be fixed. Every software company especially the renowned ones follow this practice to take precautionary measures against legitimate hackers who have malicious intent.

It is important to note that hacking of any system without permission or related activity is considered as serious cybercrimes and can lead a person to extreme consequences. There are provisions of years of imprisonment to people found guilty of unethical hacking or any other cyber-crime.

What constitutes ethical hacking?

• For hacking a computer system ethically, the hacker must obey the following rules:
• Written permission to explore the network and attempt to identify potential security risks.
• While performing hacking or related tasks, a hacker must respect the individual's or company's privacy.
• After completing his/her work, the hacker must not leave anything open for someone else to exploit it later.
• Before starting the hacking, an ethical hacker must inform software developers or hardware manufacturers to know of any security vulnerabilities in their software or hardware.

Eligibility for Ethical Hacker

It is important to have a Bachelor’s degree (BSc, BTech, BE, BCA) in Information Technology or Computer Science to become an ethical hacker. Candidates having an advanced diploma in network security can also opt for ethical hacking as a career. A certification from a reputed institute enhances the chances of getting hired by some big names in the IT sector. The list of international certifications are:

• Certified Ethical Hacker (EC-Council)
• Certified Hacking Forensic Investigator (EC-Council)
• GIAC Certified Penetration Tester (GPEN) by SAN and GIAC
• Certified Intrusion Analyst (GCIA) can further improve the job prospects
• Technical skills required
• Extensive experience in the area of network security
• Working knowledge of various operating systems
• Sound working knowledge of Microsoft and Linux servers, Cisco network switches, virtualization, Citrix and Microsoft Exchange.
• Sound working knowledge of the latest penetration software

Institutes offering Courses for Ethical Hacker

Ethical hacking course content

Ethical Hacking: Career Prospects

Growing cases of computer hacking have forced renowned companies, financial institutions, and government organizations to recruit ethical hackers. Ethical hackers help these companies in finding out vulnerabilities and possible security leaks of their computer systems and also to protect them from any potential threat. So Ethical Hacking as a career has promising prospects in the near future.

According to a survey conducted by the International Data Corp, there is a demand for over 60,000 information security personnel worldwide. In India alone, the number is expected to grow by over 77,000 and 188,000 worldwide in the next few years. Talented Ethical Hackers can look for making their career in some of the big names in the IT sector including Wipro, Dell, Reliance, Google, Accenture, IBM, and Infosys.

A Graduate degree in computer science or similar technology with certification in Ethical Hacking or any of the related stream ensure a good chance of getting a job in reputed companies.

Ethical Hacker Salary

In the present scenario, a fresher Ethical Hacker can expect to get Rs 4.8 lakh per annum. However, candidates with higher academic qualifications and work experience draw up to Rs 30 lakh per year.

FAQs regarding Ethical Hacking

Q. What is meant by ethical hacking?

A. Ethical hacking and ethical hacker are terms used to describe hacking performed by a company or individual to help identify potential threats on a computer or network.

Q. What are the three types of hackers?

A. The three types of hackers are the white hat hacker, the grey hat hacker, and the black hat hacker.

Q. Is ethical hacking legal?

A. Ethical hacking is considered legal because the actions are used to increase the security of a computer system.

Q. Where can one learn ethical hacking?

A. Candidates can learn ethical hacking through platforms such as Udemy, Coursera, etc.

Q. Is ethical hacking easy?

A. Ethical hacking is also known as penetration testing, intrusion testing and red teaming. Becoming an ethical hacker isn't an easy task to accomplish. It requires lots of knowledge, especially when it comes to computer system security, and lots of experience to have a shot at an ethical hacking job.

Q. Is hacking a career?

A. Yes, it is a good career if you are interested in the ethical hacking and cybersecurity field but it requires a great knowledge of the whole IT field.

Q. What is the salary of an ethical hacker in India?

A. In India, a certified ethical hacker (fresher) earns an average salary of Rs 3.5 lakh per year which increases with experience cumulatively up to more than 15 lakh per year.

Q. Is Python good for hacking?

A. Ethical hackers often use this dynamic programming language for scripting their on-demand hacking programs on the go.

Q. Do Google hire hackers?

A. Yes, they do hire ethical hackers for “penetration testing” which basically means that the hackers have to try and hack the software made by Google to ensure there are no security flaws.

Q. What is a blue hat hacker?

A. A blue hat hacker is someone outside computer security consulting firms who bug tests a system prior to its launch, looking for exploits so they can be closed.

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