Academy aims to turn security directors into hackers

Nov 14, 2006 3:57 PM

Hacker attacks have always been one of the nightmare scenarios for security directors. Now, an academy aims to train the security directors to think like the hackers -- and learn some of their tricks of the trade.

The Hacker Academy of Chicago, launched in early November, will offer hands-on classes in information security and hacking from hackers. It intends to train people to learn tricks exploited by hackers so they can protect their future employers, redherring.com reports. The school offers two certificate programs, the certified ethical hacker and the certified security analyst. The school's instructors are hackers.

The Hacker Academy certificates are recognized by the EC-Council, an international council of e-commerce consultants, the news service reports. The school's representatives say the certifications are recognized as standards in information security and that numerous companies and government agencies require the certifications.

"The certified ethical hacker is the more well-known certification," Aaron Cohen, president of the Hacker Academy, told redherring. "It trains people to hack into their own systems. It trains people to think like a hacker, how to use tools that hackers are using, and to essentially defend themselves."

At the Hacker Academy the school plans to train students in social engineering, among other techniques. (For more on social engineering, visit securitysolutions.com/mag/security_beware_social_engineer/index.html).

The Hacker Academy has no financial backers. Cohen says that for the time being, the company consists of himself and the instructors. The Hacker Academy's first classes begin in December. The school will offer a five-day intensive course, or boot camp, that costs $3,295.

Red Herring also interviewed Ronald O'Brien of IT security company Sophos, who contended that there is no legitimate need for something like the Hacker Academy. "The mere fact that a party would purport to teach hacking as a means of defense is something that we have always been ethically opposed to," O'Brien said.

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