Ethical Hackers: Does such a thing really exist?

Technology has become one of those funny double edged swords.  On the one hand, everything these days is accessible over the internet.

 We have infinite power of information in our tiny fingertips.  On the other hand, all of our personal information is also on the Internet.  Which means we are just as vulnerable to potential criminals and scam artists looking to infiltrate our email or steal our identity.

Cyber Crime is possibly one of the scariest realities of today.  All of our information — whether it’s personal or financial — is being stored by companies somewhere on the Internet.  Crimes like stolen identities, credit card theft, data tampering, corporate espionage, and cyber terrorism are frightening but imminent.  Thus, the technology and security superheroes, ethical hackers, arise to keep us safe.

Ethical hackers are somewhat of the “geeky superheroes” sort.  Ethical hackers break into security systems, looking for weakness and potential issues.  They manipulate servers, networks, operating systems, programming languages, and wireless systems to help solve security issues.  They use their powers to protect rather than to harm.  Private firms, government agencies, and other companies are right now in great need of ethical hackers to break into their system.

Most ethical hackers gain their skills by mastering computer languages and programming on their own.  You can become certified through various programs over the internet.  The most legit certification program  (approved by the US department of defense) is The International Council of E-Commerce Consultants (EC Council) Ethical Hacker Certification.

The market for security these days is huge.  If you can use your computer skills, and prevent one more victim of a cyber crime, then you will have a lot of potential jobs, money, and people to protect.