CSA 421 - Ethical Hacking II

(3 credits)

Hackers are innovators who constantly find new ways to attack information systems and exploit system vulnerabilities. Savvy businesses proactively protect their information systems by engaging the services and expertise of IT professionals skilled in beating hackers at their own game (often called “white hat hackers” or “ethical hackers”). Such professionals employ the very skills and techniques hackers themselves use to identify system vulnerabilities and access points for penetration to prevent hackers’ unwanted access to network and information systems. This course will instruct students in the advanced concepts of hacking such as step-by-step methodologies that hackers actually use, writing virus codes, and reverse engineering, so he or she is better prepared to protect corporate infrastructure from data breaches. Students will master advanced network packet analysis and advanced system penetration testing techniques to build their network security skill-set and beat hackers at their own game. It is expected that students will be eligible to sit for the EC-Counsel Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) certification exam. The Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) is an intermediate-level credential offered by the International Council of E-Commerce Consultants (EC-Council). CEH credential holders possess skills and knowledge on hacking practices learned in this class: footprinting and reconnaissance, scanning networks, enumeration, system hacking, Trojans, worms and viruses, sniffers, denial-of-service attacks, social engineering, session hijacking, hacking web servers, wireless networks and web applications, SQL injection, cryptography, penetration testing, evading IDS, firewalls, and honeypots. The CEH certification is recognized as one of the top five Information Security Certifications of 2019 (https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/10708-information-security-certifications.html). Prerequisite(s): CSA 420 (with a final grade of C+ or better). Spring (alternate years).