Hackers are becoming more sophisticated in conjuring up new ways to hijack your system by exploiting technical vulnerabilities or human nature. Don’t become the next victim of unscrupulous cyberspace intruders.
……………………………Kevin Mitnick
Indeed! With every technology comes the risk of its associated threats. Though the internet has proved to be a boon for society at large, it has given malicious hackers a chance to exploit systems and networks and compromise sensitive information for their personal gains. We have already heard of various incidences where cyberattacks have caused companies losses worth millions of dollars along with their reputation in the market. Companies like Facebook, Uber, Marriott international, Adobe, Sony, Alteryx, Yahoo, Alibaba, and LinkedIn have also been victims of such cyberattacks. This is the reason every small and large organization is paying attention to cybersecurity.
One of the most important roles in the field of cybersecurity is that of an ethical hacker. Companies hire ethical hackers to beat malicious hackers in their own game, thereby strengthening their cyber defenses. An ethical hacker is basically responsible for gaining authorized access to systems, networks, and edge devices of an organization and identifying the vulnerabilities and loopholes before they can be exploited by malicious hackers. They need to think just like ill-intended hackers so as to find ways to intrude the systems and keep updating themselves to become familiar with the novel ways of exploiting networks. An Ethical Hacking Certification is all you need to demonstrate your capability of handling the responsibilities of an ethical hacker effectively.
When looking for a prestigious certification in the field of ethical hacking, your search will end in Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) certification offered by the EC-Council. This article gives you a complete overview of the CEH certification and why you should achieve it for a successful career in this field.
CEH Certification – Complete Details
As per the EC-Council, the CEH certification is something that will teach you the latest commercial-grade hacking tools, techniques, and methodologies that hackers and infosec professionals use to hack an organization lawfully. The latest version of the certification CEH v11 includes many new topics like cloud hacking methodology, web applications hacking, operation technology, WPA3 encryption and cracking, malware reverse engineering, enumeration, emerging attack vectors, and hacking challenges on Steroids.
The CEH certification is valuable for a number of security professionals, including network security engineers, senior security consultants, junior penetration testers, solutions architects, cyber security analysts, warning analysts, cyber security auditors, cyber defense analysts, and manual ethical hackers. This ANSI accredited credential is best suited for security professionals who want to acquire a well-rounded body of knowledge to have better opportunities in this field. The CEH designation in one’s resume means that the candidate has minimum baseline knowledge of security threats, risks, and countermeasures.
The certification covers over 500 new threats and vulnerability scenarios, along with fileless malware, webhooks, APT, web API threats, OT attacks, web shell, AI, ML, cloud attacks, among others. You will also find the latest malware analysis tactics for ransomware, IoT botnets, banking and finance malware, android malware, OT malware analysis, and more. You can’t also ignore the fact that the EC-Council leads the industry with over 50% of course content dedicated to practical skills in live ranges leveraging their renowned iLabs.     Â
Exam Details
Professionals cannot apply for the CEH certification exam as and when they want. There are eligibility criteria set by the EC-Council – You need to have at least two years of work experience in the information security domain or attend an official EC-Council training. In both cases, you need to pay the application fee of $100. If you decide to take the formal training, your training fee shall be included in the application fee.
If you fulfill the eligibility criteria, you need to pass the CEH certification exam in order to achieve the CEH credential. You will face a total of 125 multiple choice questions in the CEH exam with a time limit of 4 hours. The passing score of the exam is around 60 to 85%. The exam will test your knowledge in information security threats, attack vectors, attack detection, attack prevention, procedures, methodologies, and more. It is available at the ECC Exam Centre and Pearson VUE Centre.
Training for CEH Exam
As mentioned above, it would be wise to take up CEH training to prepare for the exam. There are different training options available for candidates – iLearn, iWeek, Master Class, Training Partner, Education Partner. iLearn is a self-study solution offered in a streaming video format that delivers EC-Council’s training courses. iWeek is a live, trainer-led course that people can attend through virtual video conferencing. In Master Class, you get the opportunity to learn from renowned instructors and collaborate with information security professionals. Training Partner refers to the hundreds of training centers authorized to teach EC-Council courses around the world. Education Partner is suitable for students enrolled in a college or university degree program. It is a solution that offers education courses through EC-Council Academia partnered institutions.  Â
Now that you have complete details on the CEH certification, when are you pursuing it?