- Steve Mallard, MCT, CEI, CEH
Ethically. When you use the word hack and the word ethically in the same paragraph, it almost is a contradiction of terms. ECCouncil offers the CEH (Certified Ethical Hacker) certification with several other certifications. As a teacher, I recently obtained my CEI (Instructor’s Certification). I now have to look at the students I will be teaching network defense techniques which in essence is the understanding of ‘how-to’ hack. If we (the older generation of IT Managers) don’t teach the younger generation about the techniques used, the internet will become even more dangerous to use.
The Technology Center in Shelbyille is the only academia institution to be a CompTIA Learning Alliance member recognized in the state of Tennessee. As Mike Miller and I teach Security+, we teach a lot of defense measures used in protecting your network. To make our students (interns) more competitive with ‘boot camps’ (who turn out IT ‘wannabees’) we teach CompTIA, Microsoft and now ECCouncil 30 hours a week for two years. The average student goes to work for average to above average IT wages because of this. Now think about that. You’re talking about 2100+ hours with the instructor. Lectures and Labs continuously. There is no other alternative to learning IT in this fashion. The introduction of security is emphasized throughout the entire course.
The role of Security Analyst or the understanding of security now has to be taught at all levels of Information Technology. If the IT technician is a hardware/software tech, this individual is at the base and core of protecting the network. These individuals are responsible for protecting your network at the workstation level. Students memorizing a TestKing or other testing software without the hands on are not truly IT Professionals unless they have the experience with what they are studying.
Several years ago, many blogs said that ECCouncil was a scam. Now they are one of the most sought after certifications in the IT Industry. Searches across employment sites show the popularity of this certification for those individuals saying that it is a certification that is easy to obtain, I challenge you to take the four hour exam. It is one of the hardest and most concise exams I have ever taken. The material alone will not allow you to pass the exam. You need hands-on in this area. ECCouncil now promotes Hacker Halted events globally and host webinars for the public.
As we setup our labs, we will be training students in essence, how to hack. This becomes a dangerous ‘gray’ area. We show students what software and hardware they can use to hack a network. The goal is to show them how to protect their employer or client against such software. Without these tools, students today will not know how to truly protect their networks. How many universities, retail stores or government sites have to be hacked before people really wake up to on-line insecurity?
Our job now as teachers is to keep the students from becoming Black Hats…
