Ethical hacking is basically hacking the company’s system to spot the weaknesses and potential security breaches in the system. It has the same method as traditional hacking. The only difference is it’s done for the good of the company. Therefore, you have to consider the following if you’re to undergo an ethical hacking training course:
1. Rule Breaking
First, you would have to consider your capabilities in breaking the rules. If you cannot fathom breaking the rules, then ethical hacking is not for you. It’s vital because in performing ethical hacking or penetration testing courses, you would have to breach the company’s security and policies. When you perform a hack, you would have access to personal information on the companies workers, and even the employers. And that is considered a violation of the code of conduct.
You’re required to do those actions if you’re to perform a successful ethical hack. But if you don’t, there might be potential threats to unethical hacking that you might miss out, thus resulting in a failed ethical hacking. Again, evaluate and consider your ability to take in breaking the rules and policies of the company and society.
2. Programming Skills
Although it’s not a requirement that you should be an expert in programming to undergo ethical hacking training, programming is a skill that could help you in hacking. If you’re a programmer, then you are very much proficient in programming languages, which play an essential role in ethical hacking.
Most successful ethical hackers were actually former programmers themselves, and it’s not just a mere coincidence. But if you have zero actual skills in programming, it doesn’t also mean that you won’t be a successful ethical hacker for there are many websites or universities that cater ethical hacking for beginners.
3. Problem-Solving Skills
Ethical hacking is not just finding out the weaknesses of the system: you would need to find a way to get rid of this weakness in the system. So before you decide to undergo ethical hacking training, you would have to consider your problem-solving abilities. By problem-solving skills, it means your capabilities of finding and performing a solution to the problem you have at hand. Ethical hacking is in another way of finding potential security problems in the system, and it would be up to you to solve these problems by finding solutions to it. It’s not a requirement to have superb problem-solving skills in ethical hacking, but it’s recommended so that you would have an easier time manipulating codes in programming languages.
4. Where to undergo training
There are many websites and even universities out there that have a certified ethical hacking training. But it’s not as easy as choosing at random where to get your certificate or complete a course. Here are many factors that you should consider when deciding where to enroll:
- Level of knowledge in hacking: You have to evaluate your expertise in hacking. Gauge yourself whether you’re a beginner, novice or expert because there are training programs that are structured for specific levels of knowledge in hacking. Some online courses or companies offering such courses or pieces of training may be structured strictly for beginners only, while some may cater only those who are already experts in hacking.
- Cost: The costs of the training varies depending on where you get it. Some offer free training while others offer free trial training for a month then paid pieces of training for the preceding months. Others are also offers paid training. It ultimately depends on you to weigh in the cost for each training.
- Instructors’ capabilities: You also have to consider the instructors of the training. You could easily search for the site or university that offers ethical hacking, and mostly they would post who their instructors are and what their background is. There are also reviews that can be searched wherein the effectiveness of the instructor is reviewed. You can use those reviews as a guide whether the company provides adept instructors or not.
Before you dive directly into the site or university training, it’s recommended that you consider your overall knowledge in hacking, the cost of the training, and the instructors’ capabilities in teaching so that you could better view as to where you can best fit in.
Conclusion
Although you can certainly start from scratch, additional training or having someone to teach you will enhance your skills. If you wish to undergo training, consider the above-mentioned factors. It’s never easy to become a successful ethical hacker, but with adequate and competitive training, then you’ll more likely enhance your skills. Therefore, enroll in a well-adept university or company so you will be equipped with the right tools to undergo ethical hacking training.