Ethics Newsline®

CHICAGO
Students at an unusual academy in Chicago graduate with a certificate in “ethical hacking” and are thus prepared to think like computer hackers in the effort to combat them, the Christian Science Monitor reports.

Monitor staff writer Amanda Paulson notes that the Hacker Academy is part of a trend in training programs that teach the advanced techniques used by hackers so that companies can protect themselves against increasingly sophisticated attacks.

“Those attacks can range from indiscriminate globe-trotting viruses — like the ‘I love you’ virus that racked up billions of dollars in damages several years ago — to corporate spying and targeted efforts to gain sensitive data from banks, credit card companies, or individuals,” Paulsen writes. “Massive, headline-grabbing viruses seem to be waning, experts say, but lower profile targeted attacks are on the rise, making it ever trickier for companies to secure their networks.”

The academy’s “ethical hacker” certification is backed by an industry council, and courses are offered in Chicago, Orlando, Seattle, and Washington.

The academy’s founder and its lead instructor both tell the Monitor that they do not worry about students using the coursework for nefarious hacking, saying that hackers with evil intent do not need help. But they admit that it is important to maintain contact with the “black hat” world in order to learn new techniques and occasionally “turn” one to the ethical side of hacking.