A few years ago people hardly paid any attention to ethical hacking and thought of it as some modern, trendy, silicon valley thing. Business owners did not seem to think that they needed ethical hackers to protect their digital resources and data (using an anti-virus, firewall and some other basic IT security were more than enough). But things have changed quite a bit now and as it turns out, cybersecurity, especially ethical hacking, has claimed its due respect in the business world. Whether it is a nation’s defense and military department or a private communication conglomerate, ethical hacking has become one of the most important work priorities today. Did you know that organizations are encouraging their employees to do the CEH course so that they can fill their cybersecurity departments from inside?
The damage is real
The damage posed by cybercrime, cyber warfare, cyber terrorism and cyber incidents is so large and sickening that we cannot imagine a safe, secure and digitally efficient future for our world unless we make offensive cybersecurity one of our major business priorities. For those of you who don’t know what offensive security is, consider this. The best way to keep hackers out is to conduct a mock attack on yourself and find out where you lack in your security so that you can patch the loopholes before it is too late. This is what ethical hackers (offensive cybersecurity experts) do.
Whether it is paying fines for data breaches or losing operating hours due to a denial of service attack, whether it is loss of reputation due to a privacy breach or loss of revenue due to a ransomware attack, entities have a lot to lose from the slightest of negligence and they are now fixing things by prioritizing their long-ignored security budgets and tightening their cybersecurity from inside out. Add the COVID-19 pandemic to the mix and you realize why ethical hacking is becoming the talk of the town suddenly (though it’s not as sudden as it seems). The attention to ethical hacking is long overdue and the pandemic has just given the cause a little nudge, if not pushed it over the cliff. Due to remote working arrangements, excessive reliance on digital
mediums and increased fear and vulnerability among individuals, social engineering has become a massively successful endeavor and has contributed to a shocking amount of cyber attacks.
Industry-wide application
If you choose to do an ethical hacking course, you are ultimately going to be needed in almost every industry you can imagine. It doesn’t matter which sector we are talking about here. Whether it is the public sector or the private sector, whether it is the aviation industry or banking business, whether it is healthcare or education institutions, digital threats affect anyone and everyone and they can cause serious damage to operations, property, and even life. Our modern society is built upon the digital revolution and is held in place by an information technology infrastructure. If it were not for cybersecurity and ethical hackers, the entire digital landscape of a country could stand crippled and compromised at the hand of a few evil hackers.
The future
The future has a lot in store for ethical hackers. With the introduction of artificial intelligence, machine learning, the Internet of Things and new generation communication, it has become almost impossible to ignore the need for offensive cybersecurity. As a career, cybersecurity has big hopes for those who choose to pursue it. The future is digital and private and ethical hackers are going to be every business’s top asset very soon. The utter scope and application of the field are so expansive that even professionals who are currently involved with something completely different are pulled by the strong promises of this industry. If you choose to become an ethical hacker, then rest assured that your future is in safe hands and you have a bright career ahead of you.
