Certified Ethical Hackers (CEH) can be very beneficial for companies. By applying their training as hackers for the good of organizations, they can help test firewall systems as well as other network security features to find vulnerabilities. This knowledge can then be used to help people withstand real attacks from others with nefarious motives.
Becoming a CEH, however, requires training that the obtaining of a certification affirming their status as a certified ethical hacker. The International Council of Electronic Commerce Consultants administers the exam and sets the standard. To complete this certification, interested parties frequently seek out study guides to help with preparation. Here is some helpful information for those interested in finding such a study guide.
What a Study Guide Contains
The most important information for a CEH to learn and understand is the typical hacking methodology. This includes the techniques that hackers frequently use to penetrate various security systems and the overarching concepts of how hackers operate. To be successful as an ethical hacker, the aspiring professional will also need to understand and master various skills such as Unix/Linux commands and distributions, as well as various databases such as SQL. It is also a good idea to have skills related to programming and to be familiar with Java, Perl, LISP and others.
Obtaining the certification will also require learning about common types of exploits and vulnerabilities. To help protect the organization the ethical hacker will then one day be assisting, the countermeasures to fight off these techniques are equally important. Penetration testing, footprinting and reconnaissance, as well as social engineering will all be included in a well-rounded study guide. Students can also expect to master concepts such as Denial of Service attacks, Trojans, viruses, worms, SQL injection, session hacking, system hacking, buffer overflow, website hacking, cracking website encryption, evade IDs, scanning and sniffing networks, as well as other similar concepts.
Why the Study Guides Help
Students will practice how these various concepts apply to real life scenarios. The study guide will also contain tutorials and sample questions to prepare for the exam. The exam has a reputation of being challenging and there is a considerable amount of information covered. The study guide offers opportunities to review and practice before taking the actual test.
Where to Get a Study Guide
One of the best places to obtain study guides and related materials for the Certified Ethical Hacker course is from the committee who issues the certification: The International Council of Electronic Commerce Consultants. On the website for the council, they list resources ranging from whitepapers to blogs to newsletters to help ethical hackers review material and stay up to date in the industry.
There are also a number of book form study guides to assist with preparation. Exam Prep and Wiley both published study guides that are listed on the council website. There is also an official study guide put out by the council itself. These guides are all listed on the council page and are available for purchase from Amazon.com and other major retailers.
Certified Ethical Hackers do companies and government agencies an enormous service by helping them combat the ever - present threat of hackers attempting to access confidential information and potentially seriously disrupt a business. Ethical hackers help to find vulnerabilities and seal them to keep the networks safe from prying eyes. Becoming a CEH requires study and experience, but with the help of study guides, those experienced in IT can begin to prepare for the challenging exam and an exciting career.