When you think of the termhacker, what comes to mind?
Criminals plotting to destroy multinational corporations, derail governments, or simply spam your inbox?
The phrase doesnt usually have positive connotations.
We think of people hunkered down in basements, anonymously threatening to change our world for the worse.
But the reality is in 2022, hackers arent always the bad guys.
But how do they do it?
Well, heres everything you’re gonna wanna know.
What exactly is a white hat hacker?
Weve all heard of the old saying Fight fire with fire.
That is essentially what a white hat hacker does.
They use their skills and knowledge to hack into an organizations systems and databases but only hypothetically of course.
It’s free, every week, in your inbox.
By staging a variety of different fake attacks, they can spot the weaknesses in a companyscybersecuritysystem.
This includes anything from performing vulnerability assessments to running deep scans of networks for malware.
When did this profession begin?
White hats have been around in some shape or form since the start of the internet.
For example, way back in the 1970s, governments across the globe set up tiger teams.
These teams were tasked with finding faults in telecom and computing systems.
The term ethical hacking however was first used by IBM Vice President John Patrick in 1995.
Since then, the profession has gone from strength to strength.
In the past, many white hat hackers were bad guys turned good.
For example, Apple hired jailbreak app developer Peter Hajas and Microsoft employed Nintendo Wiimote hacker Johnny Chung Lee.
What skills do you’re gonna wanna be successful?
Ability to codeThe first key skill that all white hats need is a proficiency in coding and programming.
Formal training in analyzing and reading code is best.
White hats need to be highly vigilant to get to detect any risks or vulnerabilities.
Communication skillsIn any cybersecurity role, youll need excellent communication skills.
On a day-to-day basis youll be working with other departments to explain threats, concerns and also implement solutions.
What are the career prospects?
Every single organization in the world is in danger of cyber attacks.
As we move to a remote workforce where all information is stored online the threat is only increasing.
As a result, white hat hackers will continue to be in extremely high demand for the foreseeable future.
Where is the highest demand?
According to the Cybersecurity guide, there are more than 3,000 cybersecurity technology companies in the world.
Therefore, its impossible to choose just one location as a cybersecurity hub.
To find your next white hat hacker position, check out theHouse of Talent jobs board.
