Unique Careers in Cybersecurity and Ethical Hacking

In recent years, businesses, large banks corporations, and even highly fortified military systems of different countries have faced cyber-attacks that have ‘compromised’ their sensitive data related to their business strategy, product design, or financial information. Thus, the fear of being hacked is huge. Therefore, organizations all over the world, spend millions to keep their IT infrastructure safe. This is where Cybersecurity comes in as a career option. Companies spend millions of dollars hiring Cybersecurity companies to protect their systems and ensure network security. Thus, this career is unique, has high future employability, and includes international opportunities. In this blog, we will talk about some amazing careers in cybersecurity & ethical hacking and also how can you become a cybersecurity professional. 

Key point: Cybersecurity professionals are also called Ethical Hackers or ‘White Hat’ hackers. Here’s Why:

Malicious Hackers break into systems to steal people’s protected information (data) and blackmail individuals or threaten corporations or misuse (or sell) sensitive information, and ethical hackers are hired and trusted by corporations to prevent cyberattacks which can cause huge financial losses, destroy coding systems and even compromise the national security of a country and its weapon systems. 

Why Are Cybersecurity Professionals Required? 

Cybersecurity professionals are required for the following reasons:

• Prevention of data theft. 
• Discovering vulnerabilities from an attacker’s POV so that weak points can be fixed. 
• Implementing a secure network that prevents security breaches.

Fun Fact: The black hat is a malicious hacker. The name comes from Western films, where heroic and antagonistic cowboys might traditionally wear a white and a black hat, respectively

What is an Ethical Hacker’s Job? 

Ethical Hacker’s Job is to:

• Identify malicious break-ins by hackers who want to steal sensitive data. 
• Fix any ‘bugs’ and leaks in the IT System. 
• Be constantly in touch with the latest tactics that hackers may use to prevent and pre-empt future cyber-attacks and data breaches.

The most targeted industries by cyber attackers are:

• Healthcare—The most exposed industry to cyber-attacks this year.
• Technology and telecoms.
• Finance Services Industry.
• Construction Industry.

The above-mentioned industries would have the maximum opportunities for jobs in Cybersecurity.

Types of Hackers

Here is a breakdown of the different types of hackers:

White Hat: A white-hat hacker is a cybersecurity specialist who is recruited to uncover vulnerabilities in software, hardware, and networks that could be exploited, report on those flaws, and often play a role in securing such weak points.

Black Hat: The black hat hackers are the outlaws. They are known for unlawfully hacking into victims’ networks to disrupt operations, steal or destroy data, participate in espionage, or occasionally cause malicious mayhem merely to show off their abilities.

Gray Hat: The gray hat hackers are a combination of White Hat hackers and Black Hat hackers. For example, searching for security holes in a system without intending harm and without the owner’s knowledge or consent.

Green Hat Hacker: Generally speaking, a “green-hat hacker” is a newbie, newcomer, or “noob” who is interested in hacking but lacks extensive technical knowledge and education.

Blue Hat Hacker: There are two distinctly different people who fit the definition of “blue-hat hackers.” One is a novice hacker with retaliation as their driving force. The other, usually styled “BlueHat,” refers to a security expert hired by a business to check software (like Microsoft and Windows) for flaws.

Red Hat Hacker: Red-hats hunt out dangerous hackers, but they don’t just report them—they also use cutting-edge methods to shut them down, disrupt, or even destroy their systems.

Jobs For Ethical Hackers

Ethical Hackers can work as: 

• Independent consultants or 
• Join Cybersecurity firm  

What Will You Learn in a Cybersecurity Study Program?

You will learn the following study programs while studying the cybersecurity and ethical hacking program, 

• Ethical hacking 
• Penetration testing 
• Network security (its components and how to analyze network traffic)
• Digital forensics 
• Disaster recovery (after a cyber attack)
• Incident response (strategy to tackle an ‘incident’ of a data breach) 

Study Programs to Become an Ethical Hacker 

There are several online certifications available to become a Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH). However, we advise you to get a degree so that you have strong credentials to get a high-paying job we have done some research for you. So for starters, below are a few study programs available in the UK :

• BSc (Hons) Ethical Hacking (Abertay University UK).
• MSc in Ethical Hacking And Cybersecurity (Coventry University UK)
• MSc in Ethical Hacking (Abertay University UK)

Also Refer: Ethical Hacking Course

In today’s world, Ethical Hackers are game-changers in the business of Cybersecurity. Being an E-Hacker is both exciting and challenging. It is exciting because you have to create and simulate a cyber-attack to ‘test’ the strength of the security system. You need to be highly skilled and also constantly stay up to date with the evolving hacking techniques because malicious hackers change their tactics very fast so you have to stay ahead of their actions! 

We will be back next Friday with another amazing blog from Dr Maina Chawla Singh. Till then, if you have any questions or suggestions, just drop us a comment and we will get back to you. Want to study abroad? Our Leverage Edu experts are ready to assist you in narrowing down the best course and university options according to your interests and preferences.