Working as ethical hacker

Shreateh hacked the account after he failed to gain the attention of the company’s security team when he alerted them of the flaw.What made the story juicier was that Shreateh failed to get the $500 Facebook usually doles out to individuals who bring software bugs to the company’s attention.After the incident, the chief technology officer […]

Shreateh hacked the account after he failed to gain the attention of the company’s security team when he alerted them of the flaw.
What made the story juicier was that Shreateh failed to get the $500 Facebook usually doles out to individuals who bring software bugs to the company’s attention.
After the incident, the chief technology officer of cyber security firm BeyondTrust tried to mobilize fellow hackers to raise a $10,000 reward for Shreateh and as at Tuesday he was $1,000 short of achieving that goal.
There are many hackers like Shreateh who have made good cash or even gained employment from reputable international companies by being able to identify security flaws in their software.
Hackers generally have a bad reputation; one they have gained due to the misuse of the word. A hacker by definition is simply a talented computer programmer. But somehow the word became synonymous with the word cracker: someone who illegally cracks into a computer to perform a malicious act.
So is hacking a skill someone can turn into a legitimate career? Mark Zuckerberg whose account was recently hacked thought so in 2012. A letter he wrote last year to potential investors reads in part:
“Hackers believe that something can always be better, and that nothing is ever complete. They just have to go fix it — often in the face of people who say it’s impossible or are content with the status quo.”
So what are the telltale signs that hacking may be in your DNA? I like the way schools.com puts it: 1. Someone asks if you are multilingual and you say, “Yes! I’m fluent in C++, HTML 5 and Ruby.” 2. You know spear phishing has nothing to do with hunting marine animals 3. You believe something can only be strengthened by exposing its weakness and 4. You are a staunch supporter of a “free” internet.
If you have been nodding in the affirmative to all these four signs, the next step would be to know exactly what type of hacking interests you most. Interestingly hackers wear three main hats: white, grey and black. The White Hat hacker (Ethical Hacker) gets permission to break into a company’s network to find and patch vulnerabilities, the Grey Hat hacker illegally breaches a company’s network and notifies the public about its security holes and the Black Hat hacker (Cybercriminal) infiltrates computer networks and uses compromised data for personal gain.
But because I am a law abiding citizen, we would dwell on pursuing a career as an ethical hacker. In the last few decades, there’s been an increasing demand for ethical hackers as they protect the computer systems from dangerous intrusions. They are technically skilled IT pros with a strong desire to solve problems and prevent malicious hackers from causing damage to network systems.
To be a professional ethical hacker you require motivation, dedication, initiative, self-education and formal training in ethical hacking. As an ethical hacker you could either be an information security analyst or a computer programmer.
As an information security analyst your possible job responsibilities would include safeguarding computer networks and systems, monitor them for breaches, create companywide cyber security policies, include a disaster recovery plan, make security recommendations to upper management and research new cyber threats and  their counter measures among others.
 A computer programmer on the other hand uses programming language to write computer software, utilizes code libraries, checks applications for bugs and rewrites code to fix them, works with software developers to help design programmes in addition to other responsibilities.
So to hack your way through either of these careers you need to graduate secondary school, earn a bachelor’s degree in computer science, programming, information security or similar discipline, in between gain experience through internships, land a job, remember to stay current on new programming trends and consider becoming certified in a specific programming language or product.
There are many reputable computer and ICT training centres in Nigeria offering a variety of certified courses like Cisco, Java, Oracle and many others. You would need to tailor the courses to the career path you have chosen.
In Nigeria there is always need for computer programmers and information security analysts in government organizations, banks, financial institutions, military establishments and private companies.
Also remember to network and stay connected to the hacker community by sharing technical information and ideas.