Hacking for Pay

Have you seen one of the latest movies starring Julia Roberts? She plays a spy - not a political spy, mind you, but a business spy. Business spies hack into other businesses' operations and computer systems. This is really glamorized in the film, and in other films too, but the reality is that it is a serious thing. Can you imagine? You'd go straight to jail if you were hacking into a large company's system and selling their secrets to another company!

So, how does a company prevent spies from digging into their computers and pulling out valuable information? They build up secure systems by hiring people whose expertise is in Ethical Hacking to find the vulnerabilities in their IT Security. Once they do that, they can patch those leaks and build a rock solid IT system.

I know, you're wondering how you might snag a job in this growing business. The EC-Council offers classes that you can take when it's convenient to your schedule to become a Certified Ethical Hacker. No special equipment is needed other than what you probably already have - a set of headphones, high speed internet, and a computer microphone.

Even in this troublesome economy, IT security pay scales are increasing and companies are more in need of ethical hackers than ever. I really think this is one career that folks should look into.