Pentagon trains workers to hack Defense computers March 11, 2010 -- Updated 0027 GMT (0827 HKT)
Washington (CNN) -- The Pentagon is training people to hack into its own computer networks.
"To beat a hacker, you need to think like one," said Jay Bavisi, co-founder and president of the International Council of Electronic Commerce Consultants, or EC-Council. His company was chosen by the Pentagon to oversee training of Department of Defense employees who work in computer security-related jobs and certify them when the training is complete.
The Department of Defense does not consider this hacking.
"DoD personnel are not learning to hack. They are learning to defend the network against hackers," said spokesman Lt. Col. Eric Butterbaugh.
But the EC-Council calls the program "Certified Ethical Hacker certification." The purpose of the training is to teach Defense Department employees to defend their computer network.
Almost 45,000 attacks on Defense Department computers were reported in the first half of 2009, according to a government report. The report estimated that for all of 2009, the number of attacks would be up 60 percent from the previous year. Fending off the attacks costs the Pentagon about $100 million.
Jay Bavisi, president of the International Council of Electronic Commerce Consultants, on companies hiring hackers to identify potential security holes.
To know more, please click the below video link....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARae1Ry8uvQ
United States Department of Defense Embraces Hacker Certification to Protect U.S. Interests
ALBUQUERQUE NM, March 1, 2010 - EC-Council announces the official approval of the EC-Council Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) certification as a new baseline skills certification option for U.S.cyber defenders. Specifically, the new Certified Ethical Hacker program is a recognized certification for the DoD's computer network defense Service Providers (CND-SP’s), a specialized personnel classification within the United States Department of Defense’s information assurance workforce.
The Certified Ethical Hacker recognition falls under the auspices of DoD Directive 8570 Information Assurance Workforce Improvement Program. Directive 8570 provides clear guidance to information assurance training, certification and workforce management across all affected components of the DoD.
The CND-SP groups protect, monitor, analyze, detect, and respond to unauthorized activity within DoD information systems and computer networks.
With this directive, military service, contractors, and foreign employees across all job descriptions must show 100-percent compliance, CEH being one option to achieve and maintain compliance. This shows the DoD's focus on increasing training and preparation of the U.S. military workforce in the Computer Network Defense Service Provider category.
The Certified Ethical Hacker qualification tests the certification holder's knowledge in the mindset, tools and techniques of a hacker, fortifying it's certification tag line: "To beat a hacker, you must think like one."
"CEH has been selected due to the immense technical and tactical nature of the certification," said Jay Bavisi, co-founder and president of EC-Council. "It is one of the most technically advanced certifications on the directive for CND-SP professionals. In fact, it is the only certification approved across four out of the five categories to prepare the CNDSP teams. While other policy-based programs add value, CEH prepares the U.S. CND-SP’s to combat hackers in real time, defending U.S. interests globally."
Bavisi added: "We have been researching this space for quite some time and with this directive from the DoD, there has never been a better time for us to beat the hackers at their own game. We are racing to research complex hacker techniques and in the next release of our CEH program, we hope to showcase in over 150 modules, detailed and extremely complex attack and countermeasures that will help raise the level of knowledge of the CND-SP teams."
KEY FACTS:ABOUT EC-COUNCIL:The International Council of E-Commerce Consultants (EC-Council) is a member-based organization that certifies individuals in cyber security and e-commerce skills. It is the owner and developer of 16 security certifications, including Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH), Computer Hacking Forensics Investigator (CHFI) and EC-Council Certified Security Analyst (ECSA)/License Penetration Tester (LPT). Its certificate programs are offered in over 60 countries around the world.
EC-Council has trained over 60,000 individuals and certified more than 22,000 members, through more than 450 training partners globally. These certifications are recognized worldwide and have received endorsements from various government agencies including the U.S. federal government via the Montgomery GI Bill, Department of Defense via DoD 8570.01-M, National Security Agency (NSA) and the Committee on National Security Systems (CNSS).
EC-Council also operates EC-Council University and the global series of Hacker Halted security conferences. The global organization is headquartered in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
The Pentagon has ordered all troops and officials involved in protecting computer networks from enemy hackers to undergo training in computer hacking themselves.
A Feb. 25 update to a directive on information security from the office of the assistant defense secretary for networks and information integration requires workers involved in what the Pentagon calls computer-network defense to be certified in understanding as many as 150 hacking techniques.
The new training requirement comes as the Pentagon is moving ahead with creation of a new Cyberwarfare Command at Fort Meade, Md.
The certification will be carried out by specialists at the private International Council of E-Commerce Consultants, known as the EC-Council, which conducts what it calls "ethical hacker" training.
The council's president, Jay Bavisi, said the updated directive is the first time the Pentagon acknowledged publicly that it conducts hacker training.
Feb 7, 2010 -DOES hacking mean committing a crime? Not necessarily according to IT Security specialist, EC Council Asia Pacific. The leading IT Security certification body in collaborations with KBU's School of Engineering and Computing recently held a talk to shed some light on computer security and ethical hacking concepts.
The talk changed the perception of many as most people were under the impression that the terms hacking and hackers usually bring about some negative connotations.
During the talk, KBU students discovered that in the computing community, being branded as hackers could be complimentary in nature, depending on the context.
More often than not, the primary meaning of the term refers to someone who is considered as brilliant programmer or technical expert.
During the much-awaited event, students were also given the opportunity to watch the live demo on ethical hacking which was demonstrated by the EC Council presenters.
EC Council offers both business and technical training needed to build successful e-businesses.
KBU School of Engineering and Computing deputy head Dr Christine Lee said there was a huge turnout at the event as students were anxious to learn about ethical hacking and ways and means of practicing it.
She said the lecture theatre was packed with not only students from the School of Engineering and Computing but also those from School of Business, Hospitality and Tourism Management and School of Design.
EC-Council trains Italy's first batch of Computer Hacking Forensic Investigators in Rome
ROME, February 1, 2010 – Italy's very first Computer Hacking Forensic Investigator (CHFI) training was successfully conducted by Elea Spa, one of EC-Council’s Accredited Training Centre in Rome. The class was made up by 12 members of the forensic team of a major Italian company, and upon completion, they have successfully joined the global community of EC-Council certified information security members that currently stands at over 25,000 across 60 countries.
The CHFI program lets participants acquire the necessary skills to identify an intruder’s footprints and to properly gather the necessary evidence to prosecute. Many of the top tools, technologies and methodologies of the forensic trade are featured in the program, including software, hardware and specialized techniques. The CHFI curriculum has recently been certified to meet the stringent CNSS 4012 standards, awarded by the US National Security Agency (NSA) and Committee on National Security Systems (CNSS).
“We would like to thank EC-Council for the excellent in-depth CHFI program and Elea Spa for providing a conducive training environment. A special mention of Mattia Epifani, Certified EC-Council Instructor, for his professionalism and expertise in teaching the program,” said Giuseppe Mazzaraco, Fraud Management Chief of Corporate Investigation & Fraud Prevenzion of the Italian Firm.
Sean Lim, Vice President of EC-Council commented, "The CHFI program being embraced by one of the largest and respected Italian firm is a testament of the quality of our programs. We will be working together closely with our Accredited Training Centers to provide and deliver more quality training to the security community in Italy."
The Naval Post Graduate School (NPS) Joins the EC-Council Authorized Academic Training Center Program Albuquerque January 1, 2010 - Premier US Naval (and other arms of the United States Department of Defense, DoD) academic institution adopts EC-Council Certified Ethical Hacker certification to continue in their mission to provide relevant and unique advanced education and research programs that increases the combat effectiveness of the United States and Allied Forces.
“We are proud to welcome the Naval Post Graduate School to our family of EC-Council Authorized Academic Training centers. NPS joins other current US military training groups such as the Air Force Information Operations Center (AFIOC) and the 262 Warfare Squadron in delivering the Certified Ethical Hacker training curriculum,” said Eric Lopez, Director of Education for EC Council. Mr. Lopez also said, “We believe that the NPS will be instrumental in helping US government agencies close the skills gap required to assure that they stay ahead of the hackers.”
"The Naval Postgraduate School is honored to partner with EC-Council. The NPS mission of education, communication, and providing internationally accredited professional standards was integral in our decision to utilize their curriculum and certifications,” said Scott Cote, NPS Senior Lecturer/Computer Science Dept.
Mr. Cote also went on to say, “Now, more than ever, the Department of Defense must remain vigilant in the cyber arena and our partnership with EC-Council enables us to educate our military leaders in today's cyber threats; teaching them the methodologies, motives, and means hackers and cyber terrorists may use against us. With their assistance, we stand more ready today than ever before to protect our nation’s cyber infrastructures.
About EC-Council The International Council of E-Commerce Consultants (EC-Council) is a member-based organization that certifies individuals in various e-business and security skills. EC Council is the owner and developer of the world-famous E-Council Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH), Computer Hacking Forensics Investigator (C|HFI),
Certified Security Analyst (ECSA), License Penetration Tester (LPT) programs, and various others offered in over 60 countries around the globe. These certifications are recognized worldwide and have received endorsements from various government agencies including the US Federal Government via the Montgomery
GI Bill, and the US Government National Security Agency (NSA) and the Committee on National Security Systems (CNSS) certifying EC-Council’s Certified Ethical Hacking (CEH), Network Security Administrator
(ENSA), Computer Hacking Forensics Investigator (CHFI), Disaster Recovery Professional (EDRP),
Certified Security Analyst (E|CSA) and Licensed Penetration Tester (LPT) program for meeting the 4011,
4012, 4013A, 4014, 4015 and 4016 training standards for information security professionals. For more information about EC-Council, please visit
http://www.eccouncil.orgAbout the Naval Post Graduate School (NPS)The Naval Postgraduate School is an academic institution whose emphasis is on study and research programs relevant to the Navy's interests, as well as to the interests of other arms of the Department of Defense. The programs are designed to accommodate the unique requirements of the military.
Nearly 1,500 students attend the Naval Postgraduate School. The student body consists of officers from the five U.S. uniformed services, officers from approximately 30 other countries and a small number of civilian employees. Selection of officers for fully funded graduate education is based upon outstanding professional performance as an officer, promotion potential and a strong academic background.
For more information visit
http://www.nps.edu or call (831) 656-2023