Data security is one of the largest concerns and challenges for the whole world. Lack of cybersecurity and increasing sophistication of cyber-attacks has led to the huge data breaches and loss of data records globally. Data records can be related to any piece of information including date of birth, email address, account credentials, banking details, medical files, etc. Data breaches records vary around the world. Countries like the United States, India, and China are the major centers of data breaches.
According to the Breach Level Index, over 9.7 billion data records have been lost or stolen globally since 2013 as a result of data breaches and cybercrime. A recent report shows a 66% increase in GDPR data breach notification across European markets. Data Breaches are becoming more damaging and increasingly targeting large companies with cyber attacks.
As threats and cyber-attacks are increasing rapidly, cybersecurity has become very important. It encompasses everything to protect sensitive data, PII (personally identifiable information), PHI (personal health information), personal information, data, intellectual information, and governmental and industry information system from theft and attack attempted by criminals and hackers.
It protects and recovers computer systems, devices, networks, and programs from any cyber-attacks and threats. It keeps us safe from cybercriminals, hackers, and other agents of fraud. That’s why cybersecurity’s importance is on the rise and becoming a vital part of a secure and well-ordered digital world.
One of the important aspects of cybersecurity is ethical hacking. This article gives you a brief description of what ethical hacking is all about, the CEH certification, and why you should be thinking about taking a CEH course.
What Is Ethical Hacking?
Ethical hacking is a process of bypassing system security to identify the possibility of data breaches and threats in a network or a system. It is an authorized, planned, and legal practice to test the system’s defenses. It is performed to expose vulnerabilities using techniques and tools with the organization’s permission.
The aim of ethical hacking is to investigate the weak point of the system or network that hackers can exploit or destroy. Ethical hackers collect and analyze the information to find out the best ways to strengthen the security of the network/system/applications. They implement a secure network that prevents security breaches. They also can protect networks and systems with real-world assessments. Ethical hacking is also known as pen testing or penetration testing.
There are several types of hacking techniques that can attack any system, process, website, device, etc. Ethical hackers must think like malicious hackers to know their techniques and tools to find a weak point. The types of ethical hacking are Web Application Hacking, System Hacking, Web Server Hacking, Hacking Wireless Networks, Social Engineering.
There are different names and types of hackers that depend on their intent of hacking the system. Basically, there are two types of ethical hackers White-Hat hackers and Black-Hat hackers. One more type of Gray-Hat hackers that is the combination of the white and black hat hackers is also popular.
The CEH Certification
CEH stands for “Certified Ethical Hacker,” a certification offered by the EC-Council (The international council of E-Commerce consultants). This hacking certification indicates the candidate’s ability to use hacking tools and techniques to identify and solve vulnerabilities in security networks and systems. It validates the hands-on understanding and experience in ethical hacking.
CEH certification allows aspirants to handle the responsibility of attempting to penetrate computer systems and networks using the same method as a hacker. It involves many interesting topics such as ethical hacking basics, technical foundations of hacking, enumeration and system hacking, footprinting and scanning, sniffers, Trojans and backdoors, session hijacking and denial of service, and more.
This certification is designed for information security professionals or any person who wants to improve their skills in network security. With CEH certification, professionals or candidates can achieve job titles of Security Officers, Site Administrator, Network Security Specialist, IT Security Specialist, etc.The CEH focuses on the latest hacking tools, the latest malware attacks, and the emerging attack vectors in cyberspace.
This certification is also accredited by the American National Standard Institute and by GCHQ Certified Training (GCT). It is the broadest certification of all the available certification options to test the candidate’s baseline knowledge of security threats, countermeasures, and risks.
Why is CEH Certification Worth Achieving?
Taking CEH certification is worth for career growth as EC-Council claims that it is one of their flagship courses that set the standard the whole world is expecting from the ethical hacking domain. It is so popular that thousands of professionals in the world are aiming to achieve it. Looking at the following benefits of CEH, you should think of investing your time and effort in CEH.
- Improves knowledge- CEH certification improves your knowledge of vulnerabilities and risks. It helps to learn how hackers access the network and carry out an attack. It includes topics such as basic knowledge for ethical hacking, footprinting and reconnaissance, enumeration, and scanning networks that can be applied in protecting the systems.
- Helps to Learn Hacker’s skills- CEH teaches you how to think like hackers and how to implement their tools and techniques for security purposes. It provides “white hat” IT professionals insights into the mindset of a cyber-criminal. It helps to take a proactive approach and to look beyond the current security strategies.
- Versatile Field- CEH is not just useful for penetration tester but also ideal for network professionals and IT security. This real-world knowledge of CEH will be ideal for the entire team to secure the network against criminals and hackers.
- High Salary Packages- CEH certification allows you to earn high salary packages in the field of cybersecurity. It will boost your career growth and salary. The average salary for professionals with the CEH certification is £55,000, according to data from ITJobsWatch. It increases with more ambitious job titles.
In today’s digital era there is a huge demand for certified ethical hackers. So advance your security career with CEH certification that will boost your career as a security professional. You can take a CEH online course to prepare for the exam. It will easily fit into your busy schedule and you can continue learning at your own pace.
