As businesses started moving to online platforms for data storage, operations, and even sales, there is an increased concern about security. The intruders are always looking for a vulnerable network where they can peek in and turn their data theft intentions into a success. So, to safeguard the network, the companies require network security experts. No company would be able to make the most of the technical advancements without the help of security experts.
So, if you are interested in building a career in cyber security or ethical hacking, you are in for a treat! In this article, you get the ethical hacking roadmap, from knowing everything about this field to taking the certification course and finally starting your professional hacking journey.
What is Ethical Hacking?
When we hear the word hacking, the first thing that strikes our mind is data threats or fraud. However, the term 'ethical' changes the entire perception. It allows you to assess a network that belongs to someone else but with permission for the right cause. Defense organizations get special permissions to intrude into foreign networks to identify potential troubles.
Similarly, IT departments employ ethical hackers to protect their networks from attacks. Certified Ethical Hacker training program enhances career prospects with attractive salaries and high demand.
The fundamentals of ethical hacking are:
- Take legal permissions before accessing a private network.
- Ensure clarity about the work scope to avoid legal issues.
- Identify and report network vulnerabilities with remedial options.
- Report any data sensitivity to concerned organizations.
- Adhere to contract rules or non-disclosure agreements.
Types of Ethical Hackers
1. Penetration Testers (Pentesters): Pentesters simulate cyber-attacks on systems to discover vulnerabilities that attackers could exploit. Their goal is to identify weak points before hackers can exploit them.
2. Red Team Members: These ethical hackers perform advanced, targeted attacks to test an organization's defenses. They try real-world scenarios to assess how well security measures hold up under pressure.
3. Blue Team Members: Unlike red team members, blue team members focus on defending against attacks. They work to improve security protocols, monitor for threats, and respond to incidents.
4. Bug Bounty Hunters: These independent hackers find and report vulnerabilities in exchange for rewards. Many organizations run bug bounty programs to encourage external experts to identify security flaws.
Roadmap of Ethical HackerSource: theknowledgeacademy
Becoming an ethical hacker requires a structured pathway, starting from foundational knowledge to advanced skills in cybersecurity:
Foundation in IT and Networking
- Basic IT Skills: Gain a solid understanding of computer systems, operating systems (Windows, Linux), and software applications.
- Networking Fundamentals: Learn about TCP/IP, DNS, DHCP, and other networking protocols. Understand how data flows through networks.
Learn Programming Languages
- Scripting: Start with scripting languages like Python or Bash, which are important for automation and developing custom tools.
- Web Development: Basic knowledge of HTML, JavaScript, and SQL is important for web app security testing.
Understand Cybersecurity Basics
- Security Fundamentals: learn the basics of cybersecurity, including threat landscapes, types of attacks, and security principles.
Get Hands-On Experience
- Capture The Flag Competitions: Participate in CTF challenges to test your skills in real-world scenarios.
Learn Tools and Techniques
- Kali Linux: Familiarize yourself with this popular penetration testing distribution that includes a wide range of security tools.
- Penetration Testing Tools: Learn to use tools like Nmap, Metasploit, Wireshark, Burp Suite, and OWASP ZAP.
Gain Professional Experience
- Internships and Entry-Level Jobs: Find opportunities to work as a security analyst, junior penetration tester, or in a related role.
- Continuous Learning: Be updated with the latest trends, tools, and techniques in cybersecurity through online courses, webinars, and conferences.
Contribute to the Community
- Bug Bounty Programs: Participate in bug bounty programs to identify and report security vulnerabilities for rewards.
- Open Source Projects: Contribute to open source security projects and tools to gain experience and recognition in the community.
Tips to Become an Ethical Hacker
- Practice Regularly: Regularly practice your skills on platforms like Hack The Box, TryHackMe, and other ethical hacking labs.
- Read Cybersecurity Books and Blogs: Stay informed by reading authoritative books and following blogs by experienced hackers and cybersecurity experts.
- Learn From Open Source Projects: Contribute to and study open source security tools and projects to deepen your understanding.
- Understand the Legal Boundaries: Always ensure your activities are legal. Ethical hacking should always have the proper authorization and comply with laws and regulations.
- Develop Soft Skills: Communication and problem-solving skills are essential for explaining vulnerabilities to non-technical stakeholders and collaborating with team members.
What is the Attraction of an Ethical Hacking Career?
Ethical hacking is a fascinating career that people with having technical background usually choose. The field is challenging with new projects and tightly secured networks to crack. So, it will be a new challenge every day that will keep your interest in the work alive. There will never be a dull moment or monotony. Moreover, if you work for the best organization, you will get additional perks along with an attractive salary.
Let us discuss the reasons to build a career in Ethical Hacking.
1. | Growing Opportunities | Regardless of the niche, every organization plans to switch to cloud networks. While some have already started working on the cloud, others will join the wagon. So, you can expect a sudden spike in job opportunities in this industry. If you have the expertise level required by the organizations, you will never see a lack of options. |
2. | Attractive Salary | It is a high-paying profession where you can expect to get around 10 LPA at the beginning itself. As you gain more expertise and get hands-on experience in the field, your salary will keep growing. Furthermore, if you find a job in the defense sector or other public or government organizations, expect to get countless additional perks. |
3. | Challenging Industry | There will be new projects and challenges each day, so you will never feel bored or experience monotony at work! In addition, technology changes every day, so you will always have to be on your toes to keep up with the changing trends and deliver the best results. So, if you wish to be active and face new challenges each day, hacking is an ideal option. |
4. | Job Security | This industry will only see a rise in demand in the coming years, so choosing ethical hacking can secure your career. Companies will never stop using online networks for improved performance, and they will always need security professionals to help them keep the network safe. There are countless other reasons to join ethical hacking as a career. All you need to do is take up a professional certification course and gain expertise in the field to deliver the best results to every organization. Moreover, as technology and its features are ever-changing, you should stay updated with the latest trends and keep up with the changing dynamics to prove your worth. |
Another highlight of the ethical hacking career is job security. The demand for cyber security and secure networks is high, and it will keep increasing in the coming years. So, if you join the field, you can rest assured that your job and career are secured.
How to Become an Ethical Hacker: About CEH Exam
To become an ethical hacker, a technical background is essential. Aspiring hackers must clear the Certified Ethical Hacker exam, an industry-grade certification that trains professionals in ethical hacking. CEH teaches the latest techniques to identify and protect against hacker attacks and network vulnerabilities. As technology evolves, the CEH course and exam are regularly updated, ensuring professionals stay current. Achieving this certification is crucial for anyone aiming to excel in the ethical hacking field.
You can join different online cyber security courses with certificates to learn the concepts and qualify to start a professional journey. You will get access to the best study material and training from qualified professionals, and once you have the certificate, you can grab the best opportunities.
Exam Overview
The CEH exam has 125 questions, requiring a 70% score to pass, with a 4-hour duration. Apply online to take the exam. If you fail, you can retake it by emailing the EC Council manager with your previous score and paying the fee again. Maintain certification by renewing it every three years with 120 EC Council continued education credits. This is essential information for anyone planning to take the CEH exam.
Eligibility Criteria for CEH
You need to qualify for the eligibility criteria to be able to take this exam, no matter how fascinated you are with this field. There are two ways to get the certification, one with training and another without any formal course. The eligibility criteria for both these ways are as follows.
To become a Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH), attend an official training program approved by EC Council training partners or have a minimum of two years of information security experience. Enroll in courses like KnowledgeHut's certified Ethical Hacker training to prepare for the CEH exam.
Role of an Ethical Hacker
An ethical hacker is a cyber security professional who has permission to breach the security systems. They keep a close watch on the online network, ensuring no intruders ever get the chance to harm the data or operations. Additionally, they also have the right to intrude into other networks with the intention to identify and fail their attempts to affect them. The perfect example of this is a defense organization. They hire professionals to encode the planning of other organizations and stay prepared for it. Listed below are the roles and responsibilities of an ethical hacker for a better understanding.
- Scanning the network thoroughly to identify any vulnerability that can give intruders a chance to enter the confidential area.
- Prepare a strong, protective layer around the network to fail every cyber attack attempt.
- Engaging in social engineering methodologies and using the right ones in the organizational network.
- Legally access the foreign networks to collect the required information to create effective cyber security plans.
There are many other responsibilities or job roles that an ethical hacker can get. However, the job is to work around the network security world. If all of this seems like an attractive career option to you, refer to this roadmap to ethical hacking and stay prepared to grab the best job opportunities.
Skills Required
Ethical hacking is a field of Information Technology, so it goes without saying that you need to be from a technical background to become a certified ethical hacker. Other skills required for it are:
1. Basic Computer Skills
You need the fundamental computer skills to start the journey. These skills include OS, file management, database storage, MS office, emails, and social media management, and the list is never-ending. In addition, you require familiarity with all the computer operations so that you do not feel like a stranger when you start working on the machine.
2. Computer Networks
Networking skills are mandatory for an ethical hacker. You need to have a thorough knowledge of networks like DHCP, subnetting, host connections, and managing the interconnection of different computers on a single network. So, it is helpful if you have a networking background.
3. Coding Skills
An ethical hacker should have programming skills and a deeper understanding of at least one programming language. Some of the languages that prove significant and helpful for hackers include SQL, Python, C-Programming, JavaScript, Ruby, PHP, and a few more. Moreover, there are tool packages that an aspiring hacker looking for an ethical hacking roadmap on GitHub can use to gain coding expertise.
4. Hardware Knowledge
It is better to understand the hardware well to ensure perfect network connections. In addition, you should know about different parts of your machine and how you can use them in the network setup or security operations. Though you will learn all this during the training program, it is great to have prior knowledge.
5. Database Management
One of the prime reasons for network switches is proper database management. Hence, the skill that you need to learn is database organization and storage. So, sharpen your DBMS skills and be ready to manage the data, keeping it safe from intruder attacks.
6. Problem Solving Skill
The security challenges are intense, and if you do not have problem-solving skills, you may not be able to create your own mark in the industry. So, work on your problem-solving skills, and you will see yourself grow in the field well.
These are the fundamental skills that every aspirant planning to become a qualified hacker should possess. If you lack these skills, you should start preparing for them and gain the expertise level to ensure efficiency in your work. Understand that you get the best opportunities only when you have the required skills and qualifications.
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Benefits of Ethical Hacking
Ethical hacking is a much-in-demand and highly-interesting field of IT that benefits individuals and organizations alike. The companies get qualified professionals to deal with the security requirements, and the individuals get attractive salary packages and job security. Some of the benefits of ethical hacking are:
- It helps keep the data and the network secured and safe from intruder attacks.
- You can identify the probable risks well on time and prepare your network to avoid the risks.
- Prepare an effective network strategy to help organizations make a smoother transition to the cloud networks.
- A professional opting for the ethical hacking profession gets job security for a lifetime as this IT field will expectedly grow in the coming future.
- A qualified expert can expect to get attractive salary packages in this profession.
There are countless other benefits that ethical hacking offers. However, you only ripe all these perks if you are a qualified professional or have hired the best hacker with proven expertise.
Conclusion
There are countless training programs and endless opportunities in the cyber or network security field. The only thing required is a person with proven expertise. So, if you think you have what it takes to be an excellent hacker, CEH is your calling.
We have covered the detailed ethical hacking roadmap that aims at clearing every doubt and confusion around becoming a certified ethical hacker. You can start by joining a professional training program, learning the skills that an ethical hacker requires, and applying for the exam. Give your best, and once you qualify for the exam, there is no looking back! After that, you would only have to keep working on the projects and update your certification every three years to ensure you are well-versed with changing technology trends.
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