As security breaches continue to grow both in frequency and in the amount of damage they cause (according to Symantec, the average organization incurred $470,000 in losses from endpoint cyber attacks in 2011), penetration testing is becoming increasingly important for organizations of all sizes. For IT professionals seeking to expand their knowledge in that area, the EC-Council's Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) credential offers a solid base of expertise.
According to EC-Council senior director Steven Graham, the organization first began offering the credential in 2003. "At that point, there was a gap in education and certification programs training IT security practitioners," he says. "We saw good coverage in the market for security fundamentals and getting people generally aware of networks

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