Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) study resources [updated 2022]
The Certified Ethical Hacker (C|EH) certification created by the International Council of E-Commerce Consultants (EC-Council) in 2003 is one of the most popular credentials used to show a person’s competence and know-how in highlighting IT infrastructure weaknesses and vulnerabilities in a legal way and taking action to protect an organization from attacks.
A CEH professional working in the information technology or security field plays a key role in protecting a business from cybercrime by using the tools, techniques, and methodologies normally used by hackers to combat active threats that could lead to a network takeover.
EC-Council’s CEH certification has helped many expand their professional profiles (see the video testimonials of those who got certified) and take the next step forward in their careers toward becoming ethical hackers. The primary target audience for this type of cert includes security officers, IT auditors and network administrators who have direct oversight of a network structure. The most lucrative job titles for a CEH currently seem to be “information security manager” and “cybersecurity engineer.”
To become CEH-certified, professionals must pass a four-hour exam containing 125 multiple-choice questions based on the nine CEH v11 objectives. Cut scores can range from 60% to 85%.
Note: EC-Council members holding CEH certifications with at least a 90% score can apply for the CEH Hall of Fame for 2022; a selection committee will carefully review applications based on accomplishments and contributions to society. Successful applicants have a great career transformation story and role in the organization where they are employed.
Earn your CEH, guaranteed!
What are the best books to help prepare for the CEH?
If you’re ready to transition into this role through EC-Council’s Certified Ethical Hacker Certification, you may be wondering what resources are available to help prepare you for the CEH exam. Two of the best books are listed below.
CEH Certified Ethical Hacker All-in-One Exam Guide, Fifth Edition, by Matt Walker
This book provides up-to-date coverage of every topic on the CEH v11 exam. In this new edition, IT security expert Matt Walker provides in-depth explanations of relevant topics, exam tips, and 300 practice exam questions. Once you’re done with the exam, you will find this guide useful as an on-the-job reference.
CEH v11 Certified Ethical Hacker Study Guide, 1st Edition
This text offers a comprehensive overview of the CEH certification requirements and thoroughly covers all exam objectives. It also helps identify gaps in knowledge and critical study areas through chapter review questions and “Exam Essentials.” There are practical hands-on exercises, and the book includes access to the Sybex online learning center.
What are the best online resources and labs to prepare for the CEH?
iLabs CEH
This cloud-based subscription service (six months of access to the EC-Council virtual lab environment for CEH) is designed to deliver effective hands-on practice for all the concepts and methodologies covered by the certification in a secure platform. Professionals can safely practice hacking, penetration testing, computer forensics, and secure coding through over 400 complete exercises.
Penetration Testing Cyber Range in Infosec Skills
The Infosec Skills platform offers a full CEH learning path as well as a Penetration Testing Cyber Range where you can practice your ethical hacking and penetration testing skills. The online cyber range includes 30 labs covering topics such as abusing protocols, scanning for vulnerabilities, identifying exploits and delivering payloads, as well as 4 capture-the-flag (CTF) exercises.
What are the best practice exams for the CEH?
CEH Exam Prep
Start with this practice test by EC-Council. There are 50 questions in this test; the answers and the score will be displayed at the end. Also, in the EC-Council store, you can purchase access to a full year of simulated and progressive assessments to help you experience real exam scenarios. Measuring your proficiency in each objective as you progress allows you to identify gaps in knowledge easily so that you can focus your studies.
Infosec Skills CEH practice exam
The Infosec Skills CEH learning path includes a 226-question CEH practice exam. You can also create a customizable CEH practice exam from a pool of more than 1,000 questions. You can adjust the number of questions and the domains of the practice exam to target certain areas of your exam prep.
CEH v11: Certified Ethical Hacker Version 11 Practice Tests, 2nd Edition
This preparation tool is aligned to the topics covered by the CEH v11 exam; it comes with five complete practice tests that can help professionals steer their study to where it is needed and work with a realistic version of the test. IT security expert Ric Messier provides coverage of all sections of the exam blueprint, thus, giving you the confidence—and skills—needed to pass the CEH test.
What are the best online ethical hacking forums?
Although these forums are not related directly to the CEH cert exam, they offer a lot of material for candidates who want to further practice their ethical hacking skills:
Training for the CEH certification exam
CEHv11 e-Courseware (digital format and digital lab manual)
You can purchase this option with two-year validity and have access to digital material and downloadable tools. Note that an exam voucher is not included.
EC-Council’s iClass and iLearn
iClass is a training platform that offers a number of solutions catering to any learning style and schedule. It includes live video training courses and tools such as the EC-Council’s Mobile SecurityTool Kit (aka STORM), a pentest platform that comes equipped with STORM Linux on a portable touchscreen device.
The iLearn (Self-Study) option, by comparison, is an online, self-paced package of recorded live courses. It offers one-year access to training modules and e-courseware, a virtual lab platform (six months of access), an exam voucher and an attendance certificate. This asynchronous, self-study environment is available via EC-Council’s ASPEN portal at aspen.eccouncil.org and delivers EC-Council’s sought-after IT security hacking training courses.
Accredited Partner training
EC-Council has a number of training partners, including Infosec. Infosec offers both a self-paced CEH course as well as a live online CEH training. Both offerings include access to the CEH practice exams, hands-on labs and other training resources mentioned above.
EC-Council IT Security Conference
Hacker Halted 2022 is part of the annual series of computer and information security conferences presented by EC-Council. In addition to over 50 presentations from guest speakers, it builds on the educational foundation of EC-Council’s courses in all topics covered by the CEH exam: ethical hacking, computer forensics, pentesting and more.
Earn your CEH, guaranteed!
Conclusion
This article has examined some of the best resources available when preparing for the CEH certification, including books, online study resources, practice exams, forums and conferences. Many more resources are available online to meet the different needs of professionals in the field, ranging from webinars to YouTube channels to a number of different types of training courses designed to build your skills and prepare you to pass the CEH exam.
Sources:
- Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH), EC-Council
- CEH Exam Blueprint v4.0, EC-Council
- CEHv11 e-Courseware, EC-Council
- CEH Assessment, EC-Council
- CEH Exam Prep, EC-Council
EC-Council CEH
EC-Council CEH
EC-Council CEH