Gray Hat consultant Atul Tiwari (centre) and PRO Rituraj Pandit (right) at a news meet in Ranchi last month

A hacker who worms his way into your email, Facebook or bank account can leave your reputation in shreds and pocket all your money. Even if the police get on to his trail and nab him, the damage already done is too huge.

Faced with rising cyber crimes, many people in Jharkhand are getting familiar with another term — ethical hacking.

Ranchi now has an ethical hacking company, Gray Hat Private Limited, with corporate offices around 500m from Argora police station on Birsa Munda Rajpath.

In its first event on August 20, a three-hour meet on ethical hacking at the Federation of Jharkhand Chambers of Commerce and Industries (FJCCI) conference hall, Gray Hat will make people aware of what it stands for.

An ethical hacker is a computer expert, who attacks a security system using the methods of a malicious one, but with two major differences.

One, he does so on behalf of an owner to test the security system. Two, he finds out threats that a malicious hacker can exploit and reports the problems instead of taking advantage of them.

Public relations officer of the company Rituraj Pandit said they had taken the services of two ethical hackers, Atul Tiwari of Ranchi and Aditya Mukherjee of Mumbai.

Pandit said the company planned to train college and school students, businessmen, government officials and police personnel on how to keep their systems secure.

“The course fee will range from Rs 10,500 to 24,000. Duration will range from two to six months. Those who will be trained will also get certificates,” Pandit added.

“The certificate can also help persons find jobs in the IT sector where security supervisors are needed,” he said.

In the capital, police get four to five instances of email and Facebook accounts being hacked every day. Cyber Defence Research Centre (CDRC), the cyber cell of Jharkhand Police, regularly hosts meets to create awareness among schoolchildren.

Should tech colleges teach ethical hacking? Tell ttkhand@abpmail.com