Become an Ethical Hacker

In today's article, I will explain to you the steps to become a White Hat hacker.

The problem is that the word hacker is also associated with pirates and other malicious people. We will focus on the White Hat/Ethics hacker in this article.

Tomorrow, I will explain you the difference between Black, White and Grey hat hackers.
I just wanted to show you the good one first and to make you understand that a hacker is not only an information thief or a computer destroyer. He work towards the common good and It's a shame that he have a negative connotation nowadays.

WHAT STUDIES DO YOU HAVE TO DO TO BECOME A HACKER?

Starting with the question "should I study?" It is immediately apparent that many known hackers have come out of school without any degree.

Note that Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg among others have all left the university without going to the end.

Some will say that they are exceptions, it may be, but it shows that the quality of a hacker can be proved by something other than degree, there is no need to study. Indeed, a hacker learns a lot "on the field".

Being a hacker is not a job, it's a qualification that you can receive or give it to yourself.

Instead, we use the terms "Computer Security Officer", "Security Consultant", or "System Administrator and
Security" when we talk about the professions closest to the ethical hacker's state of mind. A programmer is often also called a hacker following what he does.

An ethical hacker who looks for breaches in corporate systems to secure them usually holds an engineering degree, and of course many great hackers are also graduates. For those who are interested in such a course, you can look at the Pro License CDAISI which is much about computer security although other IT licenses are just as compatible with computer security.

That said, "looking for breaches" must absolutely be done with all the necessary permissions. It's simple, if you didn’t have the written permission beforehand, you're not an ethics hacker, but a bad one.

WHERE TO START?

The state of mind is not enough, you must also have the required skills.

Some would say that you should start learning HTML. I find it useless.

You must learn to program, but the original language does not really matter.

The hacker learns a lot by himself as soon as he needs to know something. Being passionate, there won’t be any learning problem.

That said, the most normal and easy method of learning to become a hacker is to take all aspects of hacking one by one.

We begin by understanding the ethics of a hacker, concepts and definitions.

Then we try to understand the breaches by categories: web breaches, software, systems, human, etc to know how to protect ourselves and patch them on our own systems and websites.

Hackers generally use open source distributions and programs, talk about breaches, help users and write articles to better protect themselves.

A hacker knows how to use Google, so he knows how to find information, although comprehensive training can greatly facilitate his task.

HOW TO TRAIN?

There are games, platforms and other websites that allow you to train legally.

Many challenges are available on the Internet which gives an overview of your own capabilities.

Here are some resources that might interest you:

• The famous HackThisSite.
• The international CTF challenges.
• Some Wargames.
• The famous conventions in security BlackHat and DefCon.

For those wishing to find a job in computer security, you can take a look at YesWeHack which propose job offers directly related to the world of hacking

A CERTIFICATION FOR THE ROAD?

Recognized certifications in hacking exists: Certified Ethical Hacker and Offensive Security Certified Professional

It is recognized around the world, but of course it has a cost.

There is also the CISSP certification (to prove expertise in the field).