Discover the educational and skills requirements to becoming an ethical (or “white hat”) hacker. Learn about salary potential, future industry growth, and main areas of employment.
Overview
Using the same tactics and tools as malicious hackers (or “black hat” hackers), “ethical” hackers break into a business’ network systems, pinpointing its vulnerabilities and weaknesses in order to fix them before they’re left vulnerable to criminal intent.
Ethical hackers will scan an organisation’s systems, seeking entry points for potential attacks. They also check for hijacked servers, web applications, or cracked wireless encryptions. When issues are found, they fix them immediately to prevent further criminal exploits. These professionals also ensure all patch installations are up-to-date, and attempt to evade Intrustion Prevention (or Detection) Systems to ensure all are working as required.
Those working in ICT security can expect industry growth in the coming years, with an expected increase of 43,900 workers in 2018 to 47,300 by 2023.
Key Skills
- Well-versed in security tools, practices, and common methods of hacking to ensure the utmost protection of business networks
- A sound understanding of common programming languages – can help in automating tasks or exploring errors left by developers (leading to potential security threats)
- Knowledgeable in “social engineering” tactics – used to manipulate users in providing confidential data
- Perceptive in exploring potential network issues with skills in complex problem-solving
- Knowledgeable in how network systems work, and how environmental or operational changes impact it
- Excellent communication skills; required in relaying network issues with business owner and employees, and ways of mitigating them
Quick Facts
Employment for database and systems administrators and ICT security is large, with weekly earnings higher than the all-jobs average (these tend to be lower when starting out – increasing as experience grows). Most work full time, with opportunities across many regions of Australia.
Salary Range
$57,000 – $108,000 (Median: $77,000)*
*Source: Payscale
Average Weekly Hours
41 hours (vs. all jobs average of 44 hours)*
*Source: Job Outlook
Main Industries
Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services; Public Administration and Safety; and Financial and Insurance Services
STUDY PATHWAYS
Getting the skills you need is simple by studying one of our information technology courses below.
- ICT50615 – Diploma of Website Development
- ICT50118 – Diploma of Information Technology
- Certified Cybersecurity Professional
*Sources: payscale.com.au and joboutlook.gov.au – All information is to be used as a guide only, and are accurate at the time of publication.
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Industry Partnerships
A BALANCED APPROACH TO TRAINING WITH DDLS
DDLS is Australia’s largest provider of corporate IT and process training, with the widest portfolio of strategic partners and courses in Australia. For more than 25 years, DDLS has been an award-winning non-accredited training provider, spanning across Australia and into Asia.
DDLS partners with world-class companies to help organisations and individuals in the IT industry remain up-to-date with new processes, technology and platforms to reduce risk and enable efficient business practices.
GAIN A COMPETITIVE EDGE WITH THE MICROSOFT IMAGINE ACADEMY
Azure Dev Tools for Teaching provides developer tools and learning resources that students need to build their cloud-based skills. It also allows students to build, deploy, and manage applications with comprehensive Azure cloud services. Whether you’re a student getting started, or just interested in building cloud-based skills in your community, this platform has got the cloud development resources you need. Azure based tools and environments are profoundly used during the AIICT learning cycle and assist the students in becoming familiar with the Microsoft Azure environment utilised in the IT industry.
Specifically designed around building your expertise in today’s most popular technologies, the Microsoft Imagine Academy is focused on helping you to gain Microsoft Certification, a globally recognised credential that will give you a distinctive edge in the competitive job market.
SUPPLEMENT YOUR QUALIFICATION WITH LINKEDIN LEARNING
As an AIICT student, you will gain unlimited access to the global leader in online video training, Linkedin Learning, an on-demand library of high-quality instructional videos covering a vast range of software, business and creative skills. LinkedIn Learning combines industry-leading content from Lynda.com with personalized course recommendations based on insights from LinkedIn’s network.
GLOBALLY RECOGNISED CERTIFICATIONS TO PUT YOU AHEAD OF THE COMPETITION
For our Certified Cybersecurity Professional course offering, AIICT has partnered with the Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA). CompTIA is the leading provider of vendor-neutral IT certifications in the world. These certifications are accredited by International Organisation for Standardisation and the American National Standards Institute (ISO/ANSI)