Cybercrime is increasing day by day. The global cybersecurity market, valued at US$132.94 billion, is expected to grow at a CAGR of 14.1% between 2022 and 2027.
Undoubtedly, various organizations will have an immediate need for ethical hackers to protect their systems and networks from cybercrime and assess their cybersecurity readiness. Ethical hackers, known as white hat hackers, imitate the same methods of breaking into a system or network as various potential hackers would find their vulnerabilities. When legally hacking systems, ethical hackers look for vulnerabilities to secure cyberattacks and breaches in security. This allows them to underline their enterprise systems’ security, vulnerabilities, and threats to future cybersecurity issues such as data breaches, hacking, identity theft, cyber warfare, and so on.
The Ethical Hacker Certification (CEH) is a credential that validates your professional understanding and skills as an ethical hacker. EC-Council (International Council of eCommerce Consultants), the world’s largest certification organization for information security professionals, offers the globally recognized CEH certification for those pursuing careers in ethical hacking. Thanks to its global acceptance, CEH certification has become a trustworthy way for recruiters to find professionals with the necessary cybersecurity skills.
In this blog, we will discuss the required skills of an ethical hacker, how you can become a hacker, your career future after being a CEH, and more regarding becoming an EC-Council Certified Ethical Hacker. If you are committed to creating the internet a secure place to work, this article is for you.
What does a typical ethical hacking job involve?
Ethical hackers collect information about an organization’s security systems and then use it to conduct vulnerability assessments. Common vulnerabilities they exploit include potential injection attacks, aggressive authentication, security misconfiguration, and sensitive data vulnerabilities. They use vulnerabilities to test how black hat hackers or malicious hackers can exploit them. Once the testing phase is over, the ethical hacker produces a detailed report listing the steps taken to exploit the vulnerability in the system.
What skills are needed to become an ethical hacker?
In addition to a strong desire to keep up with the latest computer developments, an ethical hacker must have broad programming skills. Some of the computer skills required include:
- Experience in scripting or cryptography languages
- Knowledge of IT operating system
- Computer network mastery
- Basic knowledge of information security principles
- Knowledge of programming languages such as Python, Javascript, C++, C, SQL, PHP, Java, Ruby, and Perl
Where are the career opportunities as an ethical hacker?
Career options for ethical hackers are not just restricted to MNC ITs such as Dell, Accenture, Google, IBM, Intuit, and Infosys. Airlines, the BFSI industry, Retail chains, hotel groups, and various other sectors also need cybersecurity professionals and offer good compensation. A few of the most in-demand jobs offered to ethical hackers are:
- Security Officer
- Web Security Manager/Administrator
- Network Security Administrator
- Network security system manager
Apart from the regular 9 to 5, certified ethical hackers can also start their consulting firm that offers ethical hacking advice and other services.
How is the CEH EC-Council Certification exam administered?
To maintain its reputation and trustworthiness, the EC Council administers examinations in various forms to ensure that each certification course combines academic rigor and practical application. You will not become a fully certified ethical hacker until you pass multiple-choice-based exams and practical proficiency tests on a simulated system in a virtual lab environment.
The academic code for the first CEH exam is 312-50. This open book exam features 125 questions in a multiple choice format. The exam is taken within 4 hours. The second phase includes the CEH Certification Practice Exam, a 6-hour rigorous exam with 20 questions. This phase needs ethical hacking techniques such as port scanning skills, web application security tools; vulnerability detection techniques; SQL injection – detection, evasion methodologies and techniques, and communication protocols.
The time it takes to prepare for the exam depends on the individual and cannot be determined by a single number.
Finally, passing numbers may vary for each exam to ensure consistency in grading standards across exams. A candidate must achieve between 60% and 85% to pass the exam, depending on the difficulty level.
Eligibility of CEH Certification:
The legal age limits the age bar criteria for exams and ceh training in your country of origin/residence. For example, in India, people under 18 are not allowed to take exams or participate in EC training. It is also important that an ethical hacker has a degree of bachelor in IT or computer science, so it is advisable to have one before proceeding to CEH certification.
According to the EC-Council, the CEH (ANSI) program needs at least two years of professional experience in the field of information security with valid evidence. You are eligible for this preliminary examination if you have finished formal EC-Council training either at one of their centers, online, or at a recognized academic institution. You can earn a credential without experience. If you do not have the necessary knowledge, you can join the official EC-Council training program to prepare.
Who is this certificate intended for?
As you may have noticed, CEH certification in the USA doesn’t come cost-efficient. Still, IT professionals can benefit greatly as CEH opens the door for them to apply for high-paying positions such as:
- Network Administrators and Engineers
- System Administrators
- Risk/Threat/Vulnerability Analyst
- Information Security/IT Auditors
- Information Security Professionals/Officers
- Information Systems Security Engineer/Manager
- Information Assurance (IA) Security Officer
- Information Security Manager/Specialist
- Information Security Analyst/Administrator
CEH is one of many companies’ top qualifications when recruiting for cybersecurity-related positions.
At Vinsys, we have specific training courses for each candidate. If you’re looking to pursue ethical hacking as a career, this instructor-led training can get you started in the weeks of preparation and ultimately guide you through the D-Day exam.
As cybersecurity threats evolve in new ways over time, the job prospects for ethical hackers will only increase. All you require is the perfect qualification, the accurate training program, and the right attitude to pass this certification exam. Once you’ve done that, nothing will create a hurdle in getting the role in ethical hacking with a reputable organization.
Need help clearing the CEH certification exam?
To prepare for CEH certification, you must be familiar with the precautions against various attacks, with detailed explanations of how to use these precautions in real life. You, therefore, stand a better chance of getting certified when you are trained by experienced industry professionals who will teach you the latest syllabus and ensure that all real-world scenarios are covered for you – especially the ones you may see in your CEH -Certification exam. That’s why Vinsys have highly experienced and certified ethical hackers from across the globe to be your instructors and assist you in preparing for exams. Our 5-day instructor-led course consists of 20 modules covering the most interactive and imaginative subjects like computers and cryptography.
It doesn’t matter if you enroll for this course digitally or in a classroom – this highly exciting course will make you learn, test, hack and safeguard your system. The selected modules provide you with in-depth knowledge and experience practically with today’s important safety systems. The syllabus starts with knowledge of how perimeter protection works and then goes on to scanning and attacking networks of its own. You will also understand attack detection, policy creation, DDoS attacks, social engineering, buffer overflows, and virus generation.
Doubtful? Contact Vinsys and start your ethical hacking journey with industry experts by your side.
