Think as a Hacker Does
At the brand-new Hacker Academy in Chicago, US, students learn about phishing schemes, firewall breaches, and advanced tricks for breaking into confidential documents and revealing passwords.
But it’s not nearly as illegal as it sounds. The academy doesn’t teach people to be (51) , but to "think like hackers" and hopefully to stay one step ahead of (52) .
The students are (53) computer security professionals. They attend a course that teaches them the tools and techniques that hackers could use to get (54) systems they’re trying to protect. They (55) a certificate in "ethical " if they graduate.
The academy is one of the growing number of organizations that teach IT security experts to think like their enemies and to find holes in their systems (56) the hackers do. "If you can think like a hacker, you’re able to (57) some of the attacks that are happening," said Aaron Cohen, the academy’s founder.
Those attacks can range from indiscriminate viruses to corporate spying and efforts to gain sensitive data (58) banks, credit card companies, or individuals.
Computer Economics, a US IT research firm, estimates the (59) caused by viruses and other attacks in 2006 to be somewhere around US$14 billion.
"While the massive viruses seem to be (60) in number, there are more targeted attacks," said Mark McManus of Computer Economics.
With ransom attacks, for instance, hackers will break into a company’s network, and threaten to destroy it or give information to a competitor (61) they’re not paid.
Given all the threats, many companies are sending IT professionals to courses like those Cohen offers. So the "ethical hacker" certification, offered by the New York-based International Council of Electronic Commerce Consultants (the EC-Council), (62) about.
The EC-Council says it has trained about 20,000 people in 60 countries over the past three years, with 8,000 of them passing a (63) and earning the "ethical hacker" certification.
Cohen’s list of interested people includes an FBI agent, NASA employees, independent consultants, and company IT security directors. Some want the five-day on-site certification course. Others want a quick overview, like the US$ 695 "midnight " course, given online and late at () .
Cohen doesn’t (65) much about students using their courses for evil purposes. "Hackers don’t need our help," says Cohen.
Think as a Hacker Does