If malware, viruses, DDoS attacks and other aspects of network security are interests of yours, you should consider pursuing a career as an ethical hacker. Ethical hacking — also known as “white hat” hacking or penetration testing — allows you to put your hacking skills to good use in a perfectly legal manner, by protecting your clients from criminal hackers who would exploit their system vulnerabilities in order to do them harm. It’s a big business, expected to be worth $49.1 billion by 2015.

Ethical hackers break into computer systems using the same techniques criminal hackers would use, in order to pinpoint specific system vulnerabilities. They’ll then draw up a report outlining the vulnerabilities in a client’s system, and recommend countermeasures. If you want to be an ethical hacker, you can start on this career path by going back to school online for your MS in Cybersecurity. After you finish your education, you’ll need to earn the Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) certification given by the International Council of Electronic Commerce Consultants. These guidelines can help you succeed on the job.

Think Like a Criminal to Catch Criminals

This is the foundation of all ethical computer hacking. The global security services industry continues to grow rapidly, because criminal hackers are always finding new ways to get into systems and steal valuable information. In order to keep one step ahead of the criminals, you’re going to have to stay abreast of current developments in hacker knowledge. Stay aware of the latest trends in criminal hacking, so you’ll know what sorts of threats to watch out for in protecting your own and your clients’ systems.

Always Get Permission

The difference between ethical, legal, white hat hacking and the kind that will send you to jail for years is permission. Never hack into someone else’s accounts or systems without first obtaining their permission. It’s important to get this permission written down and signed, just in case you need proof that you were acting on orders when you performed your hacking duties.

Technical Vulnerabilities Aren’t the Only Vulnerabilities

A big part of your job as an ethical hacker will involve exploiting technical vulnerabilities in your client’s or company’s system. But criminal hackers don’t always find their way in through software vulnerabilities. Sometimes they find crucial information — passwords, network diagrams or intellectual property, for example — simply by digging through your client’s trash. Criminal hackers may even break into buildings or physically attack critical infrastructure or hardware in order to bring down a network.

Most hackers, white hat or otherwise, understand that the most vulnerable part of a system is the people who run it. To be successful as an ethical hacker, you’re going to need to be able to perform what’s known in the industry as “social engineering” — manipulating the human beings in charge of the network in order to obtain critical information. By doing this, you’ll be able to determine whether a particular system is at risk just because the people in charge are too trusting.

Don’t Crash Your Own System

Of course, ethical hackers don’t intend to crash their clients’ systems in the process of checking them for vulnerabilities. It’s common, however, for white hat hackers to accidentally crash the system simply by running too many security tests at once. Usually, this happens because the hacker in question failed to adequately plan his or her systems tests. Be careful not to overestimate how much the system can handle when you’re running security tests.

Respect Your Clients’ Privacy

Everything you do as a white hat hacker should be done for the good of the company. Be transparent in all of your dealings. Inspire trust and support by getting others involved in your security tests. Keep any information you find during the course of your penetration tests completely private. Don’t use it to snoop into the private lives of company employees or to ferret out sensitive corporate data, even if your only motive is sheer curiosity. If you find a system vulnerability that could compromise corporate or personal privacy, include it in your report.

Ethical or white hat hackers protect networks and information systems from criminal hackers who would exploit their vulnerabilities for their own gain. Ethical hackers are in high demand, and job prospects will continue to improve as the industry booms. Just remember to stay on the right side of the law, and you can enjoy a long and lucrative career in the information-security field.