Ethical hacking is the practice of breaching a system or any application with the organization’s authorization to expose all possible vulnerabilities. In simpler terms, We can say that ethical hacking has a good purpose and prevents cyber attacks. Checking of systems, data breaching, illegal access, and many more such things are checked regularly in ethical hacking. Companies do it to check how secure their systems are. Ethical hacking is a highly recognized and well-respected field. There are a lot of career options in ethical hacking. So if you are planning to take a career in ethical hacking, this article can help you.
Why go for Ethical Hacking?
People from throughout the world try to expose organizations with the wrong intentions. These people are known as hackers. Hackers steal data and information for the wrong motives. There are primarily 3 types of hackers:
- White Hat: does everything legally
- Black Hat: illegal breachings for the wrong agendas
- Gray Hat: Mix of both white and black hat hackers
Ethical hacking is done to prevent your systems from these hackers and attackers. There are a lot of opportunities in this field. Every organization wants to be secure, so there is a need for ethical hackers. To become an ethical hacker, one must have a bachelor’s degree in technology and the computer sector. Having a certificate can help you with a clear purpose and work.
Top 6 Career Options in Ethical Hacking
1. Network Administrator
A network administrator looks over the security policies. They look at the updates required in the systems. Stay updated is very crucial to reduce the chances of getting breached. Not only they look for updates and queries in the system, but they also have to track changes too. Making wise decisions and measures to prevent breaching. They work on strengthening the systems of any organization. A network administrator, on average, earns 6 to 7 Lakhs per annum. However, these values may differ from different organizations.
2. Security Consultant
It is important to check the IT systems for exploitations. They are IT solution experts. Analyzing the situations and working accordingly is an important task. A security consultant studies the potential breaches in the system and analyzes them. On average, a security consultant earns 10 Lakhs per annum.
3. Penetration Tester
A penetration tester works by penetrating the systems. They try to penetrate using different devices and systems to find possible vulnerabilities. It enables the testers to find the flaws in the ecosystem. They have all the required techniques and tools to penetrate any system. The penetration testing is done in 3 stages. These stages are:
- Black box testing: It is done to find all the vulnerabilities that can be done from outside the network.
- Gray box testing: A gray box tester has all the privileges as that of any user with few elevated privileges.
- White box testing: White box testing is done on both internal and external networks. They are known for static testing.
Black box testing is done with all the permissions and authorizations. On average penetration tester earns 7.5 Lakhs per annum. A penetration tester is a good career option in ethical hacking.
4. Government firms
Many government and private firms hire ethical hackers. The government’s data is essential and needs to be more secure. Keeping the data of all citizens safe from attackers is a big task for the government. They are more vulnerable to getting breached. Thus they hire professional ethical hackers. They even hire freelancers to sort out a few issues. Finding all the loopholes in the system can help them safeguard all the data.
Government sectors give 5 to 5.5 Lakhs per annum to ethical hackers. Private firms and companies hire consultants and ethical hackers. To reduce their data breaching possibilities and secure their employees’ data. Private firms tend to offer a little more than government firms. The reason being government firms hire a big number of consultants and testers while private firms hire a few on a contract basis.
5. Information Security Manager
The role of an information security manager is to manage and guide other IT employees. They need to make sure whether their team is working efficiently or not. They provide access to the materials required. They plan strategies and analyze and review the cost factors for the project. They assign roles to the team and make the decisions required. The salary of an information security manager ranges between 8 to 30 Lakhs per annum.
6. Cybersecurity Architect
Cyber security architect provides architectures and designs to prevent organizations from getting exploited. They evaluate the systems based on their structure. Research, planning, and implementing is what an architect does. Creating layers of security becomes necessary for increasing security. The salary offered to a cyber security architect is on average 23 Lakhs per annum. Salary ranges between 20 to 51 LPA.
Conclusion
Through this article, we have tried to provide you with all the necessary things, you should know before having a career in ethical hacking. Ethical hacking is a growing field in IT. With increasing opportunities, there is a shortage of professionals. There are some good career options in ethical hacking that you can choose from. If you are planning to have a career in it then you can go for it without any doubt.
FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)
Q.1 Is Ethical hacking a good career option?
Yes, Ethical hacking is a good career option because it has many career scopes and job opportunities. If you have an interest in the ethical hacking and cybersecurity field, then it is the best option for you but you require a great knowledge of the whole IT field. You also have excellent talent and high practical skills in ethical hacking.
Q.2 Do ethical hackers get the highest salary package?
Yes, ethical hackers get the highest salary package their highest average payscale is $79,618 PA. They are in high demand that’s why they get a high salary package as compared to other job criteria. On the basis of experience their salary package will increase their increment scale like that:
0–1 year experience: $75,027
1-3 years experience: $80,440
4-6 years experience: $89,399
7-9 years experience: $98,991.