How To Be an "Ethical" Hacker 101

Information Technology (IT) professionals are flocking back to school, to learn how become hackers.

Sometimes it is not the malicious kind of hacker who designs computer viruses and tries to steal your money, rarely it is the "ethical" hacker who at one time got paid to "hack".

Companies are now paying Ethical Hackers to expose weaknesses in their systems after a rapid increase in cyber attacks on businesses and governments worldwide. A number of universities are now offering students the chance to learn how to hack computer networks. As a result the "ethical hacking" industry is booming as more businesses realize the severe threat computer viruses pose to their bottom line.

In fact IT professionals hoping to boost their earnings and careers over the next five years are betting their shirts on ethical hacking and security qualifications, according to IT experts.

Critics have warned of the dangers of arming young people with knowledge that could so easily be turned to criminal endeavor. But industry professionals have faith that those who have the knowledge that a cyber criminal has will not misuse the information. And many experts feel the importance of ethical hacking has yet to be fully realized.

NCC group, based in Manchester, is one of the largest firms in Europe to offer ethical hacking as one of its services, claiming to have 94 of the UK's top 100 companies amongst its clients. CEO Rob Cotton says: "It's actually an arms race. It's the bad guys getting better and better and us, the good guys, trying to overcome them."

"Business is becoming more aware of it but more often than not organizations turn round and are shocked that they've been hacked."

"Why would somebody hack us and steal our information', they say? Simple reason is information is valuable, and becoming more valuable as every day passes by."

As both the private and public sectors become increasingly dependent on networked technology, the promise of a lucrative career waging war against criminal hackers is likely to make the ethical option even more popular.