Businesses are going global and processes are increasingly being controlled by networks and data security. However, the virtual world is becoming more and more prone to real threats, which inlcude an array of cyber crimes. IT or cyber security is thus becoming imperative if information is to be protected and since computer networking is the key to the flow of information, companies are spending as much as 3-4 per cent of their annual budgets on information security. They are, in fact, hiring smart ethical hackers to test the soundness of their network security.
Information security professionals or ethical hackers are in great demand and dueto the shortage of qualified professionals, jobs in this field are fetching better salaries than any other jobs in the industry. According to figures released by NASSCOM, over 1,88,000 vacancies will be created in the field, this year alone. Today, hackers outnumber IT security professional by 3 to 1 whereas the numbers should ideally be the reverse. Says Rajat Khare CEO and Director, Appin Group, one of the few companies in India catering to specific information security solutions, "The information security sector has very good career prospects and is a booming industry with jobs available in companies that provide security services, products, security audits etc.,"
So, what exactly does an ethical hacker do? Ethical hackers report problems instead of taking advantage of them. They are security researchers who plug the vulnerabilities and loopholes of online networks. The unparalleled growth of the IT industry has also fuelled the demand for various specialised security professionals. From firewall analysts, incident handlers, cyber law experts to security trainers and cryptographs, PKI and cyber insurance analysts, the options are plenty.
In India the concept of e-security is fast catching up, and jobs will present themselves in financial institutes, insurance compnies, banks, research institutions, media and entertainment organisations, government, defence and law enforcement agencies. Job prospects in developed nations are very good as they are also facing an acute shortage of skilled security manpower especially in countries like the Middle East, Europe, and the USA. For instance, one can easily get a job that pays an annual package of at least US$.60000 but you must have the security certifications and relevant experience in the field.
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