How to Boost Cyber Security As An Ethical Hacker

Cyber security is protecting the Information systems from damage or theft of the software, hardware and to the sensitive information on them. It involves the controlling of the access to the hardware and protecting the system from harm due to code or data injection, network access or malpractice by the operators. In the past few years, there has been an appreciable increase in the number of Cyber crimes, such as seizing and stealing sensitive data, abusive emails, password attacks and hacking email accounts.

This has led to the demand of ethical hackers, who are popularly called white hat or white hat hackers. He hacks to strengthen system, with legal permission and makes them penetration proof. He is a computer or network expert, who is hired by organizations to detect vulnerabilities in an IT system and secure it.

This has led to the demand of ethical hackers, who are popularly called white hat or white hat hackers. He hacks to strengthen system, with legal permission and makes them penetration proof. He is a computer or network expert, who is hired by organizations to detect vulnerabilities in an IT system and secure it.

Acclaimed organizations like Wipro, IBM hire ethical hackers to protect their system from malicious hackers. If you are interested in networking and programming, you can make a lucrative career as a successful white hat by doing some of the popular certification courses on ethical hacking.

The Basics:

The certifications for Cyber security are available for forensic to ethical hacking. They are offered by the accrediting independent organizations, such as, EC-Council, CompTIA, ISACA GIAC, and (ISC) 2.

These organizations divide the programs into categories, like entry, intermediate and the expert level.

• The entry-level certifications offer knowledge on the basics, such as best practices, foundation principles, latest technologies and the tools etc.


• Intermediate and expert-level certifications assume that the candidates have substantial job experience and in-depth knowledge of the subject.

Regardless of the Subject or Level of Experience:

• The IT security certifications can be used across organizations and jobs.


• The process of acquiring credentials usually comprises of final exam and training.


•  The renewal period of these certifications are every 3-4 years.


• For reaccreditation, continuing the education credits is essential along with the capability of passing the present exam.

Costs and Commitment:

It is worth every penny invested in acquiring the certifications which are right for the career. The certifications can be both expensive and time consuming. An entry level credential takes about 3-9 months and costs $300-$600. Many employers and Universities foot all these bills.

According To the 2014 SANS Survey of Cyber security Trends:

Which certifications to choose:

A) Entry-level Certifications:

• CompTIA Security+:

CompTIA offers a couple of vendor-neutral certifications for the IT industry, including all the 16 certification exams in the cloud, servers, Linux, networking, security etc.

• GSEC: GIAC Security Essentials Certification:

The GSE certification is highly sought after in the IT Security industry. It assesses whether the holder of the certificate has mastered the skills needed by the top consultants in security and the individual practitioners. No particular training is required for the GIAC certifications. Only the practical experience counts.

• SSCP: Systems Security Certified Practitioner:

The SSCP points out  the ability of a practitioner to handle the responsibilities  and operational demands of  the security practitioners, including the  security testing, authentication,  intrusion ,prevention, and recovery, incident response, countermeasures, attacks etc.

B) Popular industry certifications include:

• CISSP: Certified Information Systems Security Professional:

It is a high-level certificate that concentrates on management and security policy. It is the mst sought-after certification in this field.

• CISA: Certified Information Systems Auditor:

 It is designed for the professionals who control, monitor audit, and assess business systems and information technology.

• CISM: Certified Information Security Manager:

This certification is designed for the managerial positions.

• CEH: Certified Ethical Hacker:

This certification is of high demand among the penetration testers and the white hat hackers. You can get a high paying job by doing this certified ethical hacking course.

• OSCP: Offensive Security Certified Professional:

This certification is for the penetration testers and involves a 24-hour certification exam.

Cyber security is a growing concern in organizations due to the tremendous rise in cyber crimes that have taken place in the recent years. This has boosted the demand of ethical hackers, which is a lucrative career now. Take your career in the right direction with a ethical hacking training course.