In today’s digital age, with the internet deeply woven into our lives, online security has become increasingly important. Ethical hacking, on the other hand, is a crucial support system that can detect and fix vulnerabilities, protecting us from digital attacks.  A career in cybersecurity and ethical hacking is only going to increase steeply with the extensive digital usage across the globe.

Understanding the difference

Hacking in the general sense is the act of breaking into a computer system, digital device, app, or a network by exploiting the weak points to access data or manipulate something. Regular hacking is considered illegal, but ethical hacking is a legal process to fix the weaknesses to prevent attackers from misusing them.

To illustrate - Ethical hacking is a process where a professional is invited to break into the house to understand the weak points, the areas burglars/thieves with malicious intent can exploit, and fix those issues to avoid real theft, intrusion or burglary.

• Cybersecurity is the complete security framework, while ethical hacking is a subset of it.
• While cybersecurity defends and protects the digital assets, ethical hacking is carried out under strict guidelines and legal permissions to find weaknesses/vulnerabilities and help organisations with the information needed to fix them. 
• Once an ethical hacker identifies a vulnerability, the cybersecurity team constantly intervenes to fix the issue.

Cybersecurity and Ethical Hacking Course in India

With India’s digital economy growth, ever-increasing cyber threats, and government support for protecting the digital presence of the citizens, there is a great demand for cybersecurity experts and ethical hackers.

Course Model, Duration, and Subjects

Cybersecurity course

This can be taken up as a diploma, a degree, or a certification course.

The duration of the diploma course can vary between 6 months and three years. The candidate must have completed 10^th standard or an equivalent from a recognised educational board. The program is suitable for students, freshers, or working professionals. But a post-graduate diploma, however, can be more intensive and may have a longer duration, depending on the institution. Fees range between Rs. 15,000 and Rs. 2,00,000 (depending on the institution).

A B.Tech in Computer Science Engineering with Cybersecurity specialisation is a 4-year course. Students who have completed 12^th standard with Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics and have a minimum aggregate of 50% marks are eligible. Course fees range between Rs. 80,000 and Rs. 1,50,000 annually.

Bachelor of Computer Applications (BCA) with a specialisation in cybersecurity is a 3-year course (in most colleges), and students who have passed the 12th standard with a 50% aggregate are eligible.

Post-graduation courses include M.Tech, MCA, etc., with a cybersecurity specialisation for 2 years. Course fees range between Rs. 1,00,000 and Rs. 2,50,000 per year.

Professional certificate programs are offered by several reputed institutions in India, and coding knowledge is generally mandatory. The duration ranges between 3 and 12 months, and fees range from Rs. 15,000 to Rs. 1,50,000. 

The overall curriculum covers – Cloud and IoT security, network security, AI & blockchain security, firewalls, ethical hacking and penetration testing, data protection, cryptography, cyber laws, database management system, digital forensics, web application security, and risk management.   

The curriculum is designed to offer a mix of theoretical knowledge and hands-on experience.

Key career opportunities and salary

Roles include cybersecurity analyst, network security specialist, information security officer, security architect, incident responder, etc. Cybersecurity professionals are in great demand across both public and private sectors. Salaries range between 3-12 LPA and can increase significantly depending on the expertise and experience.  

Ethical hacking course

Ethical hacking can be pursued as an undergraduate or a post-graduate course, short-term certificate course, or a diploma course.

Undergraduate (UG) or post-graduate (PG) programs that integrate ethical hacking typically span 3-4 years at the UG level or 2 years at the PG level.

Diploma courses last between 1 and 2 years and Professional Certification courses generally run for 3-6 months.

The fee for a diploma can range anywhere between Rs. 3,000 to Rs. 50,000 (depending on the institute). Certification courses usually start at around Rs. 18,000 or higher. For bachelor’s or master’s degrees, the fees range between Rs. 30,000 and Rs. 3,00,000 (bachelor’s), and between Rs. 50,000 and Rs. 4,75,000 (master’s).

The overall curriculum covers – networking fundamentals and protocols, cyber law and ethics, programming languages, malware analysis, system and web application hacking, scanning and enumeration, system hacking and social engineering, cloud security hacking, vulnerability assessment and penetration testing.

For practical training, institutes integrate lab simulation with tools like Burp Suite, Metasploit, etc.

Key career opportunities and salary

Key roles in both public and private sectors include ethical hacker, security analyst, security consultant, information security analyst, penetration tester, and more. Annual salaries typically range between Rs. 5 lakhs and Rs. 8 lakhs, which can increase with certifications and experience.

Conclusion

Both fields offer strong career prospects due to increasing cybersecurity threats, and the courses support educational development from entry-level to advanced roles. The duration of ethical hacking courses remains brief and focused on specific skills but cybersecurity courses tend to be longer to provide extensive knowledge.