Hacking is the process of finding vulnerabilities in a system and using these found vulnerabilities to gain unauthorized access into the system to perform malicious activities ranging from deleting system files to stealing sensitive information. It is illegal and can lead to extreme consequences if you are caught in the act. Many people have been sentenced to years of imprisonment while some have even faced death sentences due of hacking. That being said not every form of hacking is dangerous. If done with permission, hacking is legal. Companies often hire computer experts to hack into their system and find out various vulnerabilities. This basically is Ethical Hacking. Let do a deep dive on the topic.
What is Ethical Hacking?
Organizations face the challenge of updating hack-preventing tactics, installing several technologies to protect the system before falling victim to the malicious hacker. This is where an ethical hacker comes in. Government agencies and business organizations today are in constant need of ethical hackers to combat the growing threat to IT security. Ethical hackers are hired to hack into the system in order to find the vulnerabilities plaguing
the IT system of the organization and deploy advanced security measures to protect it from malicious hackers.
Types of Hackers
Basically there are three types of hackers, they being:
 White Hat Hackers: Ethical hackers or White Hat hackers do not intend to harm the system or organization but they do so, officially, to penetrate and locate the vulnerabilities, providing solutions to fix them and ensure safety.
 Black Hat Hackers: Contrary to an ethical hacker, black hat hackers or non-ethical hackers perform hacking to fulfill their selfish intentions in order to collect monetary benefits. They steal sensitive corporate data, violating privacy, damaging the system etc.
 Grey Hat Hacker: They are a blend of both black hat and white hat hackers. They mostly hack for fun and exploit a security weakness in a computer system or network without the owner’s permission or knowledge. Their intent is to bring the weakness to the attention of the owners & earning some bug bounty.
Key skills required: IT Literacy, Problem Solving, Analytical Aptitude, Abstract Aptitude, Numerical Aptitude etc.
Job roles available: Network Security Engineer, Network Security Administrator, Security Consultant, Network Penetration Tester, Ethical Hacker.

What to study?
Students intending to pursue a career in Ethical Hacking can take up the following pathways:
 Path 1: Class XII in Science Stream with IT/Computer Science; BSc in Computer Science/ BCA / Graduation in Any IT Related Discipline; Certification Courses in Ethical Hacking.
 Path 2: Class XII in Science Stream with IT/Computer Science; B.Tech (Computer Science & Engineering); M.Tech (Information Security).
Further, here are some of the certificate courses that will take you towards a high-flying career in ethical hacking:
 CEH (Certified Ethical Hacker) course
 SSCP course
 CISSP course
 CISA course
 CISM course
 OSCP course

Where to study?
Some of the top colleges to pursue Ethical Hacking in India and abroad are mentioned below:

India Abroad

 Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur
 Indian School of Ethical Hacking, Kolkata
 Institute of Ethical Hacking and Forensics, Odisha
 Institute of Information Security, Multiple Locations
 REVA University, Bangalore

 Carnegie Mellon University, USA
 Georgia Institute of Technology, USA
 Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA
 University of Illinois-Urbana-Champaign, USA
 University of Maryland, USA

Pros and Cons
 Pros: High remuneration, High demand, Opportunity to work with cutting edge technology.
 Cons: Odd working hours
Top Recruiters
Some of the top recruiters are RAW, CBI, CID, IB, Indian Army, BreachLock, BugCrowd, CrowdStrike, HackerOne, InfySEC, Hackerank, Infosys, Wipro Technologies Ltd, Ernst & Young, Tata Consultancy Services Ltd, Deloitte India, Philips, Genpact etc.