Ethical Hacking Career: Skills You Should Ace to Become Most Wanted Ethical Hacker


Ethical hacking is one of such domains which is ever-challenging and is increasingly in demand year after year. Ethical hacking experts are in great demand across banking and finance, insurance, medical and research based businesses all across the world. Additionally, the growth of the internet and digital devices is adding to the demand for experts in cybersecurity. Organisations and businesses are offering more importance to securing their networks than ever before. This is thus an encouraging trend to enthusiasts who are keen to begin their career in cybersecurity and to take up challenges in securing a network.

Why cybersecurity is gaining prominence?

One deadly attack can bring a country’s activities to a halt and cause chaos for internet users. How can we not forget the recent havoc that WannaCry ransomware created by turning 3,00,000 computers in 150 countries as its victims? The Center for Advanced Research in Digital Forensics and Cyber Security, India opines that cybersecurity is as important as the border security of nations.

The ethical hacking jobs and careers in 2020 look quite encouraging; anyone keen on changing their career path can look into ethical hacking jobs. Career guidance experts at TutorialsPoint are providing comprehensive information for those candidates who are looking for a promising career in ethical hacking.

Cyber threats shall soon be graver than nuclear attacks to mankind. – Warren Buffet

What does ethical hacker do?

A question that arises here is “Is hacking ethical at all?”. The common notion that we all have is about hackers who intrude into others’ networks and steal information and perform malicious acts. While is there is nothing ethical in penetrating others’ networks with a malicious intent, ethical hacking is a lot more different and a responsible job.

An ethical hacker working with an organization should basically perform the following −

  • Cautiously manage and check if any malicious entry occurs bi-passing the intrusion detection and prevention systems, honeypots and firewalls.

  • Be adept with various social engineering strategies and quickly identify them before they damage the organization’s network.

  • Perform vulnerability analysis and penetration testing of applications and systems and make sure they are intrusion proof.

  • Use reconnaissance tools such as NMAP and Nessus to scan open and closed ports.

What skills should an ethical hacker possess?

As one moves up in the career ladder of cybersecurity, the following skills also play an important role −

  • Risk identification and mitigation: Identifying possible risks and tracking the progress of their containment.

  • Advanced security techniques: IOT security, network security, identity, and access management.

  • Governance skills: Cyber governance, cyber security regulations, standards such as SANS, COBIT, NIST; privacy and security regulations.

What does it take to become an ethical hacker?

If you are a graduate in a field related to computers or equivalent, you can become an ethical hacker if you learn all the skills mentioned above. First you should gain hands-on knowledge in programming, then move on to ethical hacking tools and then practice till you are confident to find bugs and vulnerabilities.

Besides −

  • You should have tonnes of patience, attention to detail, and quick decision-making capabilities.

  • You should be able to think like a black hat hacker to prevent, identify and mitigate the attacks.

  • You should also be keen to update yourself with the latest industry updates and stay up to date on recent developments in attacks and tools to handle them.

  • As an ethical hacker, it is your fundamental ethic not to involve in any black hat hacking. You should use all the hacking skills only for the benefit of their organization.

Hackers never give time to sit and think coolly before you implement your decision. It is thus imperative that you should think in a logical way to arrive at a solution when an attack happens without letting the attack get on to your nerves.

Once you are confident in the subjects mentioned, you can work towards getting certified and can choose from many industry certifications.

TutorialsPoint has all the resources available to learn ethical hacking in a simple way and budget-friendly manner. Its wide range of video tutorials and huge comprehensive library of technical and non-technical subjects lets you learn your desired subject at your own pace and place without you need to step out of your home or shell hefty on trainings and certifications. Do check them out, benefit from them and grab your dream ethical hacking job!

Updated on: 29-Feb-2024

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