Computer hacker skills are in
great demand in the U.S. government to fight the
cyberwars that pose a growing national security threat -
and they are in short supply.
For
that reason, the National Security Agency (among other
Federal agencies) is looking for cybersecurity experts
to harden networks, defend them with updates, do
"penetration testing" to find security holes, and watch
for signs of cyberattacks.
"Today
it's cyberwarriors that we're looking for, not rocket
scientists," said Richard "Dickie" George, technical
director of the NSA's Information Assurance Directorate,
the agency's cyber-defense side.
"That's
the race that we're in today. And we
need the best and brightest to be ready to take on this
cyberwarrior status," he told Reuters in an
interview.
To
fill their need, the NSA is hiring about 1,500 people in
the fiscal year, which ends September 30, and another
1,500 next year, most of them cybersecurity experts.
The NSA can attract hackers to work
within its cloistered walls by dazzling them with the
latest technology, appealing to their competitive
nature, and giving them a sense of working for the
greater good, George said.
"We
have a wonderful atmosphere, we have great people, and
we have the hardest problems on Earth.
And we need help - the country needs
help," he said.
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So,
do you want to "hack" for the good guys but don't know
where to begin? To get started in this field, it's
wise to do the following:
- Learn how to
program. A good language to learn
is Python. It is cleanly
designed, well documented, and good for beginners.
Despite being a good first language, it is not just a
toy; it is powerful and flexible and well suited for
large projects. Two other languages of
particular importance to hackers are Perl and LISP. Perl is
worth learning for practical reasons; it's very widely
used for active web pages and system administration,
so that even if you never write Perl you should learn
to read it. Many people use Perl in the
way you should use Python - to avoid C programming on jobs that don't
require C's machine efficiency. You will need to be
able to understand their code. It's best,
actually, to learn Python, C, C++, Java, Perl, and LISP. Besides
being the most important hacking languages, they
represent very different approaches to programming,
and each will educate you in valuable ways.
- Learn
how to use Unix or Linux and run it.
Unix is the operating system of the Internet. While
you can learn to use the Internet without knowing
Unix, you can't be an Internet hacker without
understanding Unix. So, learn it and play
with it. Read and modify the code. You'll have
fun and soak up more knowledge than you realize you're
learning until you look back on it as a master hacker.
- Learn how to use the World
Wide Web and write HTML. This
doesn't just mean learning how to drive a browser but
learning how to write HTML, the Web's markup language.
If you don't know how to program, writing HTML will
teach you some mental habits that will help you learn.
For those experienced programmers
with some security experience, taking the EC-Council Certified Ethical Hacker course is a
perfect way to prepare them for the EC-Council Certified
Ethical Hacker exam 312-50. The
class is the pinnacle of the most desired information
security training in which any information security
professional will want to be.
Other
options for professionals who are ready to take their
security career to the next level are to enroll in CISSP exam preparation or Security+ Certification courses,
which will help get them there. Both classes will
prepare students to pass either the CISSP or Security+
certification tests.
So,
with the growing demand for hackers and other security
professionals in a thriving field, why not take that
first step and test the waters by taking a course that
fits your needs? We offer a comprehensive list of
security and programming courses and can
customize classes for groups of five or
more.
Start on your path to Ethical Hacking and
register now for one or more of our
programming or
security courses!
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Excerpts taken from http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=9smheadab&et=1107171823061&s=100&e=001DTy5BXOLsmi7yaHCSsoDwCjd0PUVeF8fexfsHouk6G2rjX25kv819aF4r6Cc1fHYe-3XZBpq1gk4usLoEjGiXpMEBeygvTpBaT-lOX-d7DheOrJBYf-7rQSRux-4LBgkre14cExlHpM6Cvc1yUDN3YrMLYgGip3IR9V5iP9szTk=
and http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=9smheadab&et=1107171823061&s=100&e=001DTy5BXOLsmjAe0WASWaRtb4Kqspr6y0jtkeG4qTlkp4267sWDbHMvLFtGXhcO6XBns_Vkt6hHW8Zv232qg903g2n9tu3FzyzLEa2eetBgTLq_SZLTaTSnmHGIUpKZ9KjuVYoS8cJfPrQ_JQGt1CfJisZUBi34VzkX078_t1XMnD461UHl-hzBw==
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