Although real-life hacking isn’t exactly as it is in 90’s hacker movies (cool background music is unfortunately, not included), it still is something a lot of people find pretty fascinating--in fact, people even get paid for it.
The term ‘ethical hacker’ is not thrown around often; this profession is commonly described as unrenowned and in very high demand. Ethical hacking is a job where hackers are paid to use their computer skills to try to break into software or databases to test the software’s security, then report what could be better security-wise to their employer. Basically, they’re being paid to hack into software so they can tell the maker how hackable it is and how they can fix it. By doing this, they earn an average salary of $119,289, their annual pay range being $90,500 to $173,000.
One may wonder what ethical hackers (also called penetration testers, or pentesters for short) do on a day to day basis. “I work at 8:00am, I end my day typically at 5pm. I work from home so I have this luxury of being able to roll out of bed and start working pretty much after I wake up,” Heath Adams, an ethical hacker that works from home, states in one of his YouTube videos on his channel ‘The Cyber Mentor.’ He goes on to explain the types of tests he does on the programs he’s hired for in a typical day including external and internal network assessments, wireless assessments, report writing, and debriefs to name a few. He explains everything he does in lots of depth in his video, “A Day in the Life of an Ethical Hacker / Penetration Tester.”
To know more about the community as a whole, knowing about famous ethical hackers is a big part of it. For example, Kevin Mitnick went from a cybercriminal to getting paid to test software for the FBI; Tsutomu Shimomura is a cybersecurity expert and physicist who actually helped track down Kevin Mitnick during his crime days, and has won a Nobel Prize for chemistry in 2008, as well as bringing attention to lacking security and privacy in cell phones. Some hackers like Mitnick or Greg Hoglund work with the U.S. Government, the U.S. Intelligence Community, or the FBI. Joanna Rutowska is also a cybersecurity researcher with a specialty in rootkits (stealth malware). She has pointed out countless flaws in software, gaining increasing fame in the tech community.
In order to become an ethical hacker, one would need a computer science degree and certification, then work in network support, then be a network engineer, with the final step being working in information security, as this is what ethical hackers work in. According to Penny Hoelscher from Comparitech, “[Ethical hacking] is in high demand and a white hat hacking course can jumpstart your cybersecurity career.” Some online courses she refers to are StationX, Udemy, Cybrary, EH Academy, and Offensive Security. Additionally, to be an ethical hacker, certifications such as Certified Ethical Hacker Certification (CEH Certification), Global Information Assurance Certification (GIAC), and Offensive Security Certified Professional (OSCP) are recommended, if not required. Jobwise, there are many companies that offer pentesting as a service that may hire ethical hackers to take jobs such as BreachLock, Bugcrowd, CrowdStrike, and many more.
Though it takes schooling, certification, and climbing up the corporate ladder, ethical hacking is in high demand with an average salary of over $100,000. Whether it’s finding loopholes through cell phone security or breaching the FBI’s firewalls, ethical hackers are dedicated to the enhancement of cybersecurity.
Cover photo by Sophie Stewart.
About the writer:
Sophie Stewart is a staff writer for The Lion's Roar. You can learn more information about her by clicking here.
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