The Certified Ethical Hacking Course: An Overview

The Certified Ethical Hacking Course: An Overview

In the last few years, cybercrime has become a global threat, and companies across various sectors are looking for solutions and one such way is Ethical Hacking. In this article we will study the certified ethical hacking course in detail while covering the following points;

• What is Ethical Hacking?
• Types of Hackers
• How to become a Certified Ethical Hacker?
• Eligibility criteria for Ethical Hacker
• Certified Ethical Hacker jobs
• Certified Ethical Hacker salary

• What is Ethical Hacking?

Ethical hacking is defined as a process of scanning a set of potential threats and vulnerabilities in a target system or network and systematically exploiting them rather than hacking systems illegally. Companies often hired ethical hackers to hack into their systems and find the weak points so, that they can be fixed. It is done as a precautionary measure against black hat hackers, who have malicious intent.

• Types of Hackers

Hackers can be broadly categorized into three categories as per their intent.

• White Hat Hacker

A white-hat hacker is a synonym for an Ethical hacker. They are abiding by the legal contract which permits them to hack into the system to find out vulnerabilities within a system so that they can be fixed before becoming a serious threat.

• Black Hat Hacker

Black hat hackers are also known as crackers are responsible for growing cases of hacking crimes. They hack systems illegally to gain unauthorized access to a system and harm its operation or steal sensitive information.

• Grey Hat Hackers

Grey hat hackers are a blend of both. They usually hack systems for fun by violating laws or typical ethical standards but do not have malicious intent typical of black hat hackers.

• How to become a Certified Ethical Hacker?

Despite how oxymoronic the term “Ethical hacking” sounds, the Certified Ethical hacker credential is no joke. And if you are aspiring to become an ethical hacker, most employers require an ethical hacking certification. Certification tests ensure that the hacker not only understands his job well but also the ethical responsibilities of the job. Since many companies are serious about this designation; they look out for certified professionals, who are well aware of technicalities and nuances involved in the process. Undoubtedly, a good certification assures them that.

Following are the most common and sought after certifications today;

1. Certified Ethical Hacker

The certified ethical hacker (CEH) certification is one of the most popular options among IT professionals, who wish to specialize in ethical hacking. This credential is sponsored by the international council of E-commerce Consultants (EC-Council), a member-supported professional organization. The CEH exam is designed to test the knowledge and understanding of security threats, risks, and countermeasures through lectures and hands-on labs. An experienced professional can sit for the exam without any training by submitting proof of at least two years of cybersecurity experience. The main attraction of CEH certification is its flexible approach for options such as instructor-led training, video lectures, and self-study. These options are available online, and organizations have the option of contracting EC- council trainers to conduct on-site training.

2. Global Information Assurance Certification penetration tester.

The global information Assurance Certification (GIAC) program is sponsored by the SANS Institute, one of the oldest organizations that provide cybersecurity education. It offers dozens of vendor-neutral online courses with hands-on learning. It also sponsors white research papers that are provided to the cybersecurity industry for free.

There are plenty of options to earn the GIAC penetration tester certification, but it is highly suggested that learners take the SEC560 course on network penetration and ethical hacking from the SANS Institute.

3. Offensive security certified professional

The offensive security certified professional (OSCP) is the least popular, but toughest technical ethical hacking certification offered by Offensive Security that teaches penetration testing methodologies and the use of tools like; Kali Linux. It is an advanced level exam and suitable for experienced IT experts having 2-3 years of experience as you need to hack into 5 systems within 24 hours which is not easy as you think.

Office security has designed a program for technical professionals” to prove they have a clear understanding, practical understanding of the penetration testing process and lifecycle” for most students the training will be conducted online; classroom training is only provided in Las Vegas.

 The OSCP exam is conducted through a virtual network with varying configurations. The test-taker is tasked with researching the network, identifying vulnerabilities, and hacking into the system to gain administrative access with 24 hours. 

After the completion, the offensive security certification committee will receive a comprehensive penetration test report for review and then they declare whether to grant the certification or not.

Apart from these certified institutions, there are plenty of options available, one can choose from certified ethical hacking training.

• Eligibility Criteria for Ethical Hacker

To become an ethical hacker, one must possess a bachelor’s degree (BSc, Btech, BE, BCA) in information technology or Computer science. Candidates with an advanced diploma in network security can also opt for ethical hacking as a career. Certification from a reputed institute enhances the chances of getting hired by some big-tech companies.

• Certified Ethical Hackers Jobs

As the world has become more technology-driven and centered on the internet, maintaining and protecting our systems from cybercrime is the biggest challenge to achieve. Various renowned companies are it any financial institution or any govt. organization. All are recruiting Ethical hackers.

Ethical hackers can help them in finding out the possible security leaks and potential threats that can be helpful for malicious hackers. So, Ethical hacking as a career is very promising and lucrative in near future.  

 According to a survey conducted by the International Data Corp, there is a demand for over 60,000 ethical hackers and is expected to grow 188,000 worldwide. In India alone, the number is expected to grow in lakhs. A certified ethical hacker can easily get a job in companies related to cybersecurity or the IT sector. 

Even a certified ethical hacker can give his or her services as a freelancer as most companies hire freelancers to work for them.

• Certified Ethical Hacker Salary

In the present scenario, a certified fresher in ethical hacking can expect to get 4 or 4.5 lakh per annum. And an experienced candidate with higher academic qualifications can get up to 30 lakh per year.

According to the pay scale, a certified ethical hacker can make up to $80,074 annually on average. The average starting salary for a certified ethical hacker is $95,000, according to EC- council senior director Steven Graham. Those with a few years of experience can pull $120,000 and upwards per year, particularly freelancers or independent consultants.

 With this, we come to an end of this “certified ethical hacking course” article. I hope this article has provided you the required information to bootstrap your path to becoming an ethical hacker.

If you desire to make your career as an ethical hacker or in a related field of cybersecurity, then check out our ethical training courses which are instructor-led live training with hands-on real-life hacking experiences.