When I first heard of the phrase
Ethical Hacking, my eyebrows shot up like they want to get off my head. I honestly, honestly thought those hackers are supposed to be above-the-law people who, well..hack programs, take information without permission and destroy systems. Like modern day Robin Hoods or traditional politicians, depending on the means. I know there are some hackers who do their thing just to benefit themselves, but I know a lot of people who hack for the sake of others. So imagine my surprise (That is mild. Try shock.) when I read it is actually a way to tighten
IT Security.
Say what?! I thought hackers are supposed to be attempting to
break security thingamajigs. But no. Of course I was wrong (Why am I surprised.). There are even courses offered that allow you to become a
Certified Ethical Hacker. Imagine! Being paid to become a goddamn hacker. How amazing can that be? And for a good cause, at that. Sheesh. If only I was gifted with enough brain power to understand those technical stuff. Y'all be looking at me like "Ooohh.. She is that super cool girl who knows her stuff." Unfortunately, I am not equipped with that. So goodbye dreams.
But just as I was losing hope of becoming an uber knowledgeable hacker, here comes
EC-Council. They are offering classes on
Security Fundamentals, Ethical Hacking, Penetration Testing (hmm..I like the sound of this. Haha!),
Computer Forensics
, Disaster Recovery and Secure Programming. With their classes, you will learn how to become an ethical hacker by training you how to circumvent security attacks. Now all the technical stuff is making me dizzy right now (it usually does), but from what I understand, choosing this as a career avenue is a very promising field in terms of salary. A recent study showed that the pay for certified security professionals is one of the fastest-growing in IT.
There is even a FREE, One day, First LOOK! IT Security Event that many IT professionals have already joined in, which lets you take a peek on what the buzz is about before attending a class. And what they are actually offering is an online class which lets you pick out your own schedule. How much more convenient can you get? So, if you are not a complete moron like I am and have the basic skills enough to potentially become a good ethical hacker, use your knowledge. Enroll in an online class like the one
EC-Council is offering. Help prevent hacking attempts on an organization by knowing how to take the "defense depth" approach, that is, attack the system like a real dirty hacker and therefore check security vulnerabilities, thus be able to design countermeasures for it.
Effing cool.