The risk of being hacked has only increased as companies have moved transactions and records online. While tech departments do what they can to ensure websites and databases have the latest security features, the continued attempts to get into these sites show that just adding the features isn't always enough. Think of all the data breaches that have occurred in the past few years to companies large and small.

Companies that really want to ensure their sites are secure look to "ethical" hacking or "white hat" hacking. These services ensure the security features live up to their reputation. It's possible now to get certifications in ethical hacking, and if your company doesn't want to outsource the security work, your own employees can get this certification and form a testing team that can identify weak spots in your sites' defenses.

What Is Ethical Hacking?

Ethical hacking or white hat hacking is when you truly try to hack into a system, but instead of trying to access data illegally, you're actually just testing the system. You're trying to see how easy it is to get in, how many ways you can sneak past security features, and what you can access when you get into the system. Ethical hacking in done on purpose with permission from the site owner.

What are Some of the Other Types of Hackers?

You'll also hear terms like black hat hacking and gray hat. Black hat hackers are those who hack in for gain, like to get financial information or to create service problems for a network. Gray (or grey) hat hackers have initial good intentions; they'll probe networks and sites for security vulnerabilities and notify the owner, but they tend to do this without permission, and they often do request payments once something is found. They may also make the security issue public if the site owner doesn't do anything.

Why Do I Need an Ethical Hacker in My Business?

Having ethical hackers on your team gives you two advantages: One, you have staff members constantly looking for problems with the system so you can fix them, and two, you prevent gray hat hackers from getting in and possibly making other hackers aware of your site's issues before you fix them.

What is Certified Ethical Hacker Status?

Ethical hacking has become so critical to a company's computer security that it has to be a routine feature in IT departments. Either you can have an outside company do the work, in which case you have more paperwork and subcontracting to deal with, or you can have your own staff members learn how to test the networks themselves.

This second option is the easiest as these people are already on your payroll, reducing paperwork, and scheduling issues. Not to mention that all of the private information about your company's digital security stays within your company.

How Certification Programs Can Help White Hat Hackers

However, ethical hacking goes beyond just testing. You must be sure your ethical hackers know the latest procedures that black hat hackers use to breach security. In addition, given that threats tend to increase, you can't assume that someone who appears to know all the tactics actually does.

A certification program can help. These programs give your ethical hackers the information they need to spot all types of vulnerabilities and look at the system from a black hat hacker's perspective. A passing score on the certification exam shows that the ethical hacker does know what to look for.

Even if your business has never had a problem like a denial of service attack, or even a minor intrusion into a database, you need to have an ethical hacker working with you. You need to have someone testing your systems to ensure no one else can get in without permission. The consequences of hacking can be so severe that you can't afford to assume you'll never be at risk.

Is Your Company Ready for

Introducing ethical hacking to your company is not difficult. Have one or more of your IT professionals certified through Infotec's Certified Ethical Hacker certification. One exam is all it takes to ensure that you have a reliable team of security professionals protecting your system. Contact us today for more information.