When you think of a hacker, what do you think of? It is probably somebody in a dark room with bright screens who is trying to steal your money or personal data - but that is only one side of the story. The other side of hacking is ethical hacking, or ‘white hats’. Ethical hackers will break into online services such as banks or websites with no information to test the security systems. People hire ethical hackers so that they can test security systems in case there is an actual hacker with no information. Businesses want to know how easy their system is to break into. As an ethical hacker you are paid to break into a service that you were hired to break into. However, you cannot use that information that you have gained to sell or perform illegal activities and you must give all information that you have acquired to the person who has hired you. If you are wondering if it is worth it, it is. Not only are you getting paid £52,256 per year but you are also helping those around you because without ethical hackers then banks and the government would be hacked into more and you could have been at risk. The skills that are required to be an ethical hacker is something that anyone can get if they put their mind to it. 

1. Computer Networking Skills: In order to access a computer network you must be able to know how a network works and what its weaknesses are. 

2. General Computer Skills: How would you become an ethical hacker if you don’t know how a computer works and what to do when things go wrong? 

3. Programming Skills: This can be through knowing a programming language such as Python, C++, JavaScript, SQL or the many more programming languages that exist. 

4. Problem Solving Skills: If you are good at problem solving or solving puzzles then that is a great thing because as an ethical hacker you will be faced with problems all of the time and you will need to know how to solve them. 

5. Patience: If you aren’t patient then this might not be the best career for you because breaking into systems takes time and effort. 

Being an ethical hacker is not like in the movies but it can take a while for you to break into the system. 

Enjoy your ethical hacking!