tamdd18/Sybex_CEH_v10_Certified_Ethical · Datasets at Hugging Face

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tools that may be used.
The subject matter of the CEH exam is very technical. This is not a field in which you
can get by with theoretical knowledge. You will need to have had experience with the
methods and tools that are covered within the subject matter for the CEH exam. What you
may also have noticed here is that the modules all fall within the different stages mentioned
earlier. While you may not necessarily be asked for a specific methodology, you will find
that the contents of the exam do generally follow the methodology that the EC-Council
believes to be a standard approach.
About the Exam
The CEH exam has much the same parameters as other professional certification exams.
You will take a computerized, proctored exam. You will have 4 hours to complete
125 questions. That means you will have, on average, roughly 2 minutes per question.
The questions are all multiple choice. The exam can be taken through the ECC Exam
Center or at a Pearson VUE center.
Should you wish to take your certification even further, you could go after the CEH
Practical exam. For this exam you must perform an actual penetration test and write a
report at the end of it. This demonstrates that in addition to knowing the body of material
covered by the exam, you can put that knowledge to use in a practical way. You will be
expected to know how to compromise systems and identify vulnerabilities.
In order to pass the exam, you will have to correctly answer questions, though the
actual number of questions you have to answer correctly will vary. The passing grade varies
depending on the difficulty of the questions asked. The harder the questions that are asked
out of the complete pool of questions, the fewer questions you need to get right to pass the
exam. If you get easier questions, you will need to get more of the questions right to pass.
There are some sources of information that will tell you that you need to get 70 percent of
the questions right, and that may be okay for general guidance and preparation as a rough
low-end marker. However, keep in mind that when you sit down to take the actual test at
the testing center, the passing grade will vary.
The good news is that you will know whether you passed before you leave the testing
center. You will get your score when you finish the exam and you will also get a piece of
paper indicating the details of your grade. You will get feedback associated with the differ-
ent scoring areas and how you performed in each of them.
Who Is Eligible
Not everyone is eligible to sit for the CEH exam. Before you go too far down the road, you
should check your qualifications. Just as a starting point, you have to be at least 18 years of
age. The other eligibility standards are as follows:
■ ■ Anyone who has versions 1–7 of the CEH certification. CEH certification (or exam?) is
ANSI certified now, but early versions of the exam were available before the certifica-
tion. Anyone who wants to take the ANSI-accredited certification who has the early
version of the CEH certification can take the exam.
■ ■ Minimum of two years of related work experience. Anyone who has the experience
will have to pay a non-refundable application fee of $100.
■ ■ Have taken an EC-Council training.
If you meet these qualification standards, you can apply for the certification, along with
paying the fee if it is applicable to you (if you take one of the EC-Council trainings, the fee
is included). The application will be valid for three months.
Exam Cost
In order to take the certification exam, you need to pay for a Pearson VUE exam
voucher. The cost of this is $1,199. You could also obtain an EC-Council voucher for
$950, but that requires that you have taken EC-Council training and can provide a
Certificate of Attendance.
About EC-Council
The International Council of Electronic Commerce Consultants is more commonly
known as the EC-Council. It was created after the airplane attacks that happened
against the United States on 9/11/01. The founder, Jay Bavisi, wondered what would
happen if the perpetrators of the attack decided to move from the kinetic world to the
digital world. Even beyond that particular set of attackers, the Internet has become
a host to a large number of people who are interested in causing damage or stealing
information. The economics of the Internet, meaning the low cost of entry into the
business, encourage criminals to use it as a means of stealing information, ransoming
data, or other malicious acts.
The EC-Council is considered to be one of the largest certifying bodies in the world.
They operate in 145 countries and have certified more than 200,000 people. In addition to
the CEH, the EC-Council also administers a number of other IT-related certifications. They
manage the following certifications:
■ ■ Certified Network Defender (CND)
■ ■ Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH)
■ ■ Certified Ethical Hacker Practical
■ ■ EC-Council Certified Security Analyst (ECSA)
■ ■ EC-Council Certified Security Analyst Practical
■ ■ Licensed Penetration Tester (LPT)
■ ■ Computer Hacking Forensic Investigator (CHFI)
■ ■ Certified Chief Information Security Officer (CCISO)
One advantage to holding a certification from the EC-Council is that the orga-
nization has been accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI).
Additionally, and perhaps more importantly for potential certification holders, the
certifications from EC-Council are recognized worldwide and have been endorsed by
governmental agencies like the National Security Agency (NSA). The Department of
Defense Directive 8570 includes the CEH certification. This is important because hav-
ing the CEH certification means that you could be quickly qualified for a number of
positions with the United States government.
The CEH certification provides a bar. This means that there is a set of known standards.
In order to obtain the certification, you will need to have met at least the minimal standard.
These standards can be relied on consistently. This is why someone with the CEH certifica-
tion can be trusted. They have demonstrated that they have met known and accepted stan-
dards of both knowledge and professional conduct.
Using This Book
This book is structured in a way that foundational material is up front. With this approach,
you can make your way in an orderly fashion through the book, one chapter at a time.
Technical books can be dry and difficult to get through sometimes, but it’s always my goal
to try to make them easy to read and hopefully entertaining along the way. If you already
have a lot of experience, you don’t need to take the direct route from beginning to end. You
can skip around as you need to. No chapter relies on any other. They all stand alone with
respect to the content. However, if you don’t have the foundation and try to jump to a later
chapter, you may find yourself getting lost or confused by the material. All you need to do
is jump back to some of the foundational chapters.
Beyond the foundational materials, the book generally follows a fairly standard meth-
odology when it comes to performing security testing. This methodology will be further
explained in Chapter 1. As a result, you can follow along with the steps of a penetration
test/ethical hacking engagement. Understanding the outline and reason for the methodol-

tools that may be used.

The subject matter of the CEH exam is very technical. This is not a field in which you

can get by with theoretical knowledge. You will need to have had experience with the

methods and tools that are covered within the subject matter for the CEH exam. What you

may also have noticed here is that the modules all fall within the different stages mentioned

earlier. While you may not necessarily be asked for a specific methodology, you will find

that the contents of the exam do generally follow the methodology that the EC-Council

believes to be a standard approach.

About the Exam

The CEH exam has much the same parameters as other professional certification exams.

You will take a computerized, proctored exam. You will have 4 hours to complete

125 questions. That means you will have, on average, roughly 2 minutes per question.

The questions are all multiple choice. The exam can be taken through the ECC Exam

Center or at a Pearson VUE center.

Should you wish to take your certification even further, you could go after the CEH

Practical exam. For this exam you must perform an actual penetration test and write a

report at the end of it. This demonstrates that in addition to knowing the body of material

covered by the exam, you can put that knowledge to use in a practical way. You will be

expected to know how to compromise systems and identify vulnerabilities.

In order to pass the exam, you will have to correctly answer questions, though the

actual number of questions you have to answer correctly will vary. The passing grade varies

depending on the difficulty of the questions asked. The harder the questions that are asked

out of the complete pool of questions, the fewer questions you need to get right to pass the

exam. If you get easier questions, you will need to get more of the questions right to pass.

There are some sources of information that will tell you that you need to get 70 percent of

the questions right, and that may be okay for general guidance and preparation as a rough

low-end marker. However, keep in mind that when you sit down to take the actual test at

the testing center, the passing grade will vary.

The good news is that you will know whether you passed before you leave the testing

center. You will get your score when you finish the exam and you will also get a piece of

paper indicating the details of your grade. You will get feedback associated with the differ-

ent scoring areas and how you performed in each of them.

Who Is Eligible

Not everyone is eligible to sit for the CEH exam. Before you go too far down the road, you

should check your qualifications. Just as a starting point, you have to be at least 18 years of

age. The other eligibility standards are as follows:

■ ■ Anyone who has versions 1–7 of the CEH certification. CEH certification (or exam?) is

ANSI certified now, but early versions of the exam were available before the certifica-

tion. Anyone who wants to take the ANSI-accredited certification who has the early

version of the CEH certification can take the exam.

■ ■ Minimum of two years of related work experience. Anyone who has the experience

will have to pay a non-refundable application fee of $100.

■ ■ Have taken an EC-Council training.

If you meet these qualification standards, you can apply for the certification, along with

paying the fee if it is applicable to you (if you take one of the EC-Council trainings, the fee

is included). The application will be valid for three months.

Exam Cost

In order to take the certification exam, you need to pay for a Pearson VUE exam

voucher. The cost of this is $1,199. You could also obtain an EC-Council voucher for

$950, but that requires that you have taken EC-Council training and can provide a

Certificate of Attendance.

About EC-Council

The International Council of Electronic Commerce Consultants is more commonly

known as the EC-Council. It was created after the airplane attacks that happened

against the United States on 9/11/01. The founder, Jay Bavisi, wondered what would

happen if the perpetrators of the attack decided to move from the kinetic world to the

digital world. Even beyond that particular set of attackers, the Internet has become

a host to a large number of people who are interested in causing damage or stealing

information. The economics of the Internet, meaning the low cost of entry into the

business, encourage criminals to use it as a means of stealing information, ransoming

data, or other malicious acts.

The EC-Council is considered to be one of the largest certifying bodies in the world.

They operate in 145 countries and have certified more than 200,000 people. In addition to

the CEH, the EC-Council also administers a number of other IT-related certifications. They

manage the following certifications:

■ ■ Certified Network Defender (CND)

■ ■ Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH)

■ ■ Certified Ethical Hacker Practical

■ ■ EC-Council Certified Security Analyst (ECSA)

■ ■ EC-Council Certified Security Analyst Practical

■ ■ Licensed Penetration Tester (LPT)

■ ■ Computer Hacking Forensic Investigator (CHFI)

■ ■ Certified Chief Information Security Officer (CCISO)

One advantage to holding a certification from the EC-Council is that the orga-

nization has been accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI).

Additionally, and perhaps more importantly for potential certification holders, the

certifications from EC-Council are recognized worldwide and have been endorsed by

governmental agencies like the National Security Agency (NSA). The Department of

Defense Directive 8570 includes the CEH certification. This is important because hav-

ing the CEH certification means that you could be quickly qualified for a number of

positions with the United States government.

The CEH certification provides a bar. This means that there is a set of known standards.

In order to obtain the certification, you will need to have met at least the minimal standard.

These standards can be relied on consistently. This is why someone with the CEH certifica-

tion can be trusted. They have demonstrated that they have met known and accepted stan-

dards of both knowledge and professional conduct.

Using This Book

This book is structured in a way that foundational material is up front. With this approach,

you can make your way in an orderly fashion through the book, one chapter at a time.

Technical books can be dry and difficult to get through sometimes, but it’s always my goal

to try to make them easy to read and hopefully entertaining along the way. If you already

have a lot of experience, you don’t need to take the direct route from beginning to end. You

can skip around as you need to. No chapter relies on any other. They all stand alone with

respect to the content. However, if you don’t have the foundation and try to jump to a later

chapter, you may find yourself getting lost or confused by the material. All you need to do

is jump back to some of the foundational chapters.

Beyond the foundational materials, the book generally follows a fairly standard meth-

odology when it comes to performing security testing. This methodology will be further

explained in Chapter 1. As a result, you can follow along with the steps of a penetration

test/ethical hacking engagement. Understanding the outline and reason for the methodol-