How to Become An Ethical Hacker In South Africa

An Ethical Hacker is a skilled professional who has excellent technical knowledge and skills and knows how to identify and exploit vulnerabilities in target systems. He works with the permission of the owners of systems.

What is the Outlook for Ethical Hackers?

Cyberwarfare is extremely common, and many high profile enterprises have been subject to major hacking issues. In this day and age, spending on IT security on a global scale is reaching the trillion-dollar mark. 

What Can You Expect as an Ethical Hacker?

Once you have embarked on a role as an ethical hacker, you will put all your technical and security expertise into trying to breach the network security of the business or organization that has hired you. The business will require a detailed analysis of your findings and your suggestions for the improvement of its network security

What Can You Expect as an Ethical Hacker?

Once you have embarked on a role as an ethical hacker, you will put all your technical and security expertise into trying to breach the network security of the business or organization that has hired you. The business will require a detailed analysis of your findings and your suggestions for the improvement of its network security. 

How to Become An Ethical Hacker In South Africa

Role of an ethical hacker

Ethical hackers can be independent freelance consultants, employed by a firm that specializes in simulated offensive cybersecurity services, or they can be an in-house employee protecting a company’s website or apps:

Knowledge of current attack methods and tools is a requirement across these employment options, however, the in-house ethical hacker may be required to have an intimate knowledge of only a single software or digital asset type.

Conversely, a benefit that an external ethical hacker may provide is a fresh set of eyes to identify vulnerabilities that may be overlooked by the internal team. Even organizations that employ an internal red team may occasionally contract an external ethical hacker to provide this fresh look at their defenses.

The skills required to become an ethical hacker In South Africa

There are plenty of blackhat hackers that have adequate technical skills to be an ethical hacker, but they lack the discipline of character to do the right thing regardless of the perceived benefits of doing otherwise:

A history of cybercrime poses an unacceptable risk for a member of a cybersecurity team. For a large organization with an astute legal team, this type of risk would represent a nonstarter. A word to the wise then is, when looking for work as an ethical hacker, a resume that includes any work that even smells of unauthorized work or unethical behavior is a fast way to be disqualified.

Second to having the “ethical” part of this colloquial nickname covered is the need to have the “hacker” part covered as well. A candidate for an ethical hacker job must be able to demonstrate advanced cybersecurity technical skills. The ability to recommend mitigation and remediation strategies are a part of the desired experience.

Ethical hacker certifications and education

The two certifications that are specific to ethical hacking are

Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) and Offensive Security Certified Professional (OSCP).

EC-Council describes their CEH certification is these terms: “A Certified Ethical Hacker is a skilled professional who understands and knows how to look for weaknesses and vulnerabilities in target systems and uses the same knowledge and tools as a malicious hacker, but in a lawful and legitimate manner to assess the security posture of a target system(s). The CEH credential certifies individuals in the specific network security discipline of Ethical Hacking from a vendor-neutral perspective.”

Any number of other cybersecurity professional certifications offered by EC-Council will lend themselves toward becoming more hireable as an ethical hacker.

Offensive Security describes their OSCP certification, saying “The OSCP examination consists of a virtual network containing targets of varying configurations and operating systems. At the start of the exam, the student receives the exam and connectivity instructions for an isolated exam network that they have no prior knowledge or exposure to.

How much does a Ethical Hacker make in South Africa?

A mid-career Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) with 5-9 years of experience earns an average total compensation of R600,000 based on 6 salaries.

How much do hackers earn in South Africa?

Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) Jobs by Salary

Job TitleRangeAverage
Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH)Range:R97k – R993kAverage:R425,000
Information Security SpecialistRange:R403k – R637kAverage:R492,000
Security AnalystRange:R164k – R472kAverage:R257,824
Information Security OfficerRange:R501k – R1m

Are ethical hackers in demand In South Africa?

As with other computer and network security roles, ethical hackers are in high demand, and this demand is only increasing as the severity and cost of cyber attacks continues to surge. As you might expect, organizations that desperately need skilled and certified ethical hackers are willing to pay a premium.

How does a hacker make money In South Africa?

One of the most common ways hackers make money is phishing. Phishing involves posing as a legitimate business in order to obtain sensitive information such as usernames, passwords, credit card details, or even bank account information. Malicious redirects are the most common and easiest type of cyberattack to fix.

Does Google hire ethical hackers?

Yes, they do hire ethical hackers for “penetration testing” which basically means that the hackers have to try and hack the software made by Google to ensure there are no security flaws.

Can you be an ethical hacker without a degree In South Africa?

A degree is not a matter for ethical hacking but to become an Ethical hacker in computer firms you need a degree for that. Fortunately, Computer science is a field where you can do experiments and learn the things if you are hardworking and dedicated to your goal.

Can you become a hacker without going to college In South Africa?

As much as you don’t need a degree to be an ethical hacker, you should have good foundational knowledge in computer science and programming. With that off the way, you really don’t need to be a computer science expert. All you need is the basic knowledge of all the components of computer science.

What qualifications do I need to be an ethical hacker In South Africa?

“Most commonly the EC-Council Certified Ethical Hacker certification, a self-study or classroom course with a 200 multiple choice question exam at the end,” Chadha says, adding: “Communications-Electronics Security Group (CESG) [now part of the National Cyber Security Centre] approval is also required for any .

How long does it take to become a hacker In South Africa?

In sum, most ethical hackers need at least four years to gain the education, experience, and certification needed to obtain an ethical hacking job. For many of them, this process takes five years or longer.