How To Clear CEH in First Attempt?

Cybercrime and hacking attacks are doubling year on year. Not just corporate giants and government entities, but even small scale companies and start-ups are afraid of being victims of cyber theft. Organizations may face major losses not just in their profits but also loss of reputation, data, and customers. Therefore, almost all organizations want to keep their data and privacy of their customers safe from cyber criminals. These organizations spend a fortune on implementing robust technology architecture and on hiring professionals who can identify loopholes in the cyber security systems and patch them up before hackers can get through. These professionals, known as ethical hackers or white hat hackers, can help organizations protect their assets (people, process, and technology) from cybercriminals.

Why CEH? 

The exponential rise in data, and our dependence on virtual systems has also consequently raised attacks from cyber criminals and data breaches. This has made the role of the ethical hacker among the most important job roles in these times. There is a huge demand for cybersecurity experts in almost all types of businesses. To hire security experts, organizations have some basic or minimum benchmarks set. These security experts are expected to have a good understanding of security concepts, and knowledge of the latest tools, processes, and frameworks so that they can be one step ahead of cyber criminals and prevent data breach.  

This is where certifications such as the CEH - Certified Ethical Hacker by EC-Council comes into play. The CEH is the most comprehensive program for ethical hackers as it covers the latest hacking trends and familiarises professionals with the technologies that will help prevent data breaches. This international accreditation is recognised world over, so no matter where you are, your skills and knowledge will be considered valid by all organizations, anywhere in the world. 

To defeat the hacker, you need to think like a hacker. This program is all about developing the hacker mindset but in an ethical way. Once you are ready to jump into this, passing the CEH exam is your 1st milestone in your career. In this article, we will learn how to become a certified ethical hacker in the very first attempt, for which hard work and dedication are highly recommended.  

Preparation Steps 

We will discuss here the 5 steps to prepare for CEH certification.  

1. Plan the training 

Once you decide to achieve the certification, you need a concrete plan for training as well as practice. Choose the best source for training. We highly recommend choosing offline classroom training if you are a student or novice in cybersecurity. Usually, you can complete training in 3-4 months or less.  

The reason we recommend an offline course is that meeting other like-minded learners and professionals will help you  develop the ethical hacker mindset. You can get in touch with proper mentors, people with similar mind-sets and take advantage of group study which can reveal many unknown issues, incidents, and examples. Of course, this will cost you more but you can’t learn to swim without getting wet.

2. Get your hands dirty – Practice! 

The plus point of the latest version of CEH v11 is that it is more focused,  practical based and scenario-based with the latest content that equips students with hands-on skills. Remember, security is all about practice and implementation rather than a bunch of documents and do’s and don’ts checklist. In the course of gaining the credential you will learn about methods and tools that you can use to protect the organization such as security implementations, testing, and monitoring. Just bookish knowledge won’t help there. We recommend that spending at least 2 hours daily practice apart from training will improve your skills dramatically.

3. Study Guides  

While we did mention above not to be bookish, books are a treasure trove of knowledge and even for clearing the CEH you must do a thorough read of the recommended books.  

You can religiously follow study guides and clear your concept on every topic in a very descriptive manner. This will answer all your “What and Why” in terms of cybersecurity and ethical hacking. Of course, this is world-class content and therefore you will get exact definitions, descriptions, and diagrams for almost all topics. We recommend studying at least 1 hour daily to get clear on all topics during the training.  

4. Study groups - Community 

Study groups will polish your knowledge and skills for CEH topics. There are many study groups you can join where you can resolve your queries, clear your doubts, take help to learn something, and help others too. This will help you to stay in the company of like-minded people and you will get to learn fast.  

However, it is recommended not to share any personal/sensitive information. Beware of any unknown person who asks for sensitive information like your IP address, location, personal information, or anything apart from CEH courseware.   

We recommend making a study group with the people you know who are also attempting the exam. You can take the help of your trainer or mentor to manage this group. Be active and participate in group activities like quizzes or group discussions. 

5. Self-assessment 

Keep learning is the key element of CEH training. Brush up your knowledge for the exam perspective as that is your main goal to become certified. For this, you need to learn how to give the exam and what type of questions are asked. 

For a second, let’s imagine the scenario of a war. If a new trainee soldier having knowledge of arms and wearing his 15 kgs protective suit jumped into the warzone, do you think he can fight better and save the lives of others without having any practice? Probably not, because he is unaware of war scenarios, combat methods, and ways of attack and defense in real war zones where the situation is uncertain. 

The same concept applies to CEH exams. You may face a lot of weird-looking or twisted or tricky questions with confusing multiple answers. Therefore, once you are done with your CEH training and you have knowledge of all topics, you need to test it like a mock drill of the war zone.

There are many sources available where you can practice the exam questions. This platform will help you to understand the methods to ace the exam questions, and complete them within the required timeframe. 

Here we are sharing some links to practice for your exams. ( Note: We do not promote any website or any platform here. These links are shared to help students find good options for studying.) 

1. CEH ASSESSMENT- EC-Council
2. EC-Council® CEH™ Exam Prep
3. CEH practice exam

Apart from this, you can follow blogs, industry experts, and relevant videos for more understanding and guidance.

Required soft skills 

Every job roles needs certain skills apart from the core skills needed to perform on the job. These include soft skills that will help you grow as an individual and as a professional.

1. Be Curious – Be hungry for knowledge and for learning new things and gaining new skills.  
2. Be Enthusiastic - Be enthusiastic and motivated throughout your journey as a hacker and you will be rewarded.  
3. Eliminate the distractions - Avoid time-wasting or non-productive activities during the training like spending time on online games or social media. 

About the exam 

After getting trained and completing your practice, it is time for the exam. The CEH exam is a 4 hour exam with 125 multiple choice questions. Check the below link for the exam blueprint to get an idea of the percentage ratio of each module during the CEH exam. 

Examination centres can be chosen based on your location. Keep your exam code with you. The exam organizers have a process to determine the difficulty rating of each question. For more information, you can check out the EC-Council website and get in touch with your training center.

Conclusion 

So, start your journey on becoming a certified cyber security professional with the CEH course and credential. As with anything else, practice makes perfect and you will become better as an ethical hacker with practice. Work hard and you will definitely achieve your CEH certification at the very first attempt.