I am raising funds to enroll in the EC-Council's CEH v9 training program. Upon completion, I will be fully prepared with a highly in-demand skillset backed up by a world-recognized certification. CEH stands for Certified Ethical Hacker, it was created and it administered by the EC Council. The CEH is one of the most in demand tech certifications available right now. I have been studying on my own, hours each day, in preparation. To attend an actual training program would elevate and reinforce my skills, and the program they are offering is thoroughly well developed. It covers the 18 domains an Ethical Hacker should be skilled in, and includes more than 140 virtual modules for hands on practice. Also included in the price is a Microsoft Surface Tablet that the EC-Council has loaded with all the required course material and software. This certification will set me apart from others and lead to me becoming a more valuable member of the information security community.

I received my first computer in the fifth grade, and immediately dove in heads first. I was developing websites with HTML and Javascript within a year, and within two years developing Windows applications in Microsoft Visual Basic. Alongside these activities, I was naturally attracted to the hacker subculture. I began to learn network protocols and many of the same skills and techniques in use today. I was in middle school, and was immature, I would have been consiidered a black hat hacker. Gradually I drifted away from computers, programming, and hacking due to a variety of reasons. My passion was reignited upon hearing about the massive data breach that Target suffered inn 2013. I began researching again, and came to find out that many of the same vulnerabilities that worked back when I was in middle school are the same as today. It was around this time that I concluded that I would use my previous experience to get back into the field, but this time to focus on helping to secure and defend our networks from malicious hackers and cybercriminals. I feel very strongly about securing our data, and infrastructure. Cyberwarfare became a recognized reality to the general public when Stuxnet(highly sophisticated malware that specifically targeted Iran's nuclear enrichment facilities with the successful objective of damaging and delaying their nuclear program.) Nearly every day there is a headline about a database being hacked and the private information of thousands freely posted online. These types of things are what I want to work on daily.

I am raising this amount to cover the exact cost of the training provided by the EC-Councill. Included in this cost is the course material, extennded access to the virtual lab where the hands on training takes place, DVD copies of the lectures by the innstructors,, and a Microsoft Surface Pro 4 provided by the EC Council and configured with the proper software and coursework. I need this as I do not currently have a PC. I have been doing all my schoolwork and research on a smartphone and it limits my productivity and capabilities. Also included in the price is a voucher to take the exam. This information can be verified on their website at the following link: https://iclass.eccouncil.org Click on CEH, I chose the iLearn self-paced option, as it is a thousand dollars cheaper and allows me to progress through the coursework as fast as I want without waiting. The exact breakdown is as follows: 1,899 for the iLearn option which includes one Year Access to the official e-courseware, 6 months access to EC-Council's official Online lab environment (iLabs) with all tools pre-loaded into platform, Certification Voucher & expert instructor-led training modules with streaming video presentations, practice simulators and learning supplements including official EC-Council Courseware for an all-inclusive training. $225 for additional physical courseware $139 for access to Transcend's practice exams(renowned in the industry as top-tier)' $1299 for Microsoft Surface Pro 4(Intel i5, 256GB SSD, 8GB RAM) preconfigured for training by the EC-Council It is an investment, the average salary of someone with a CEH certification is $99,880 annually. Visit the folllowing URL for more details: https://iclass.eccouncil.org/?p=719#gf_55 Thank you for taking the time to read this.

Any amount will help, but I am offerinng a Gold sponsorship option for those who can donate $100 or more. For those donors, upon passing my test and earning my certification, I will demonstrate the value of the course by performing a penetration test on their network, upon conclusion I will provide a report detailing vulnerabilities I have identified and offering recpmmendations to remediate those vulnerabilities. I will also provide my expertise to you, on call, any time for any techniical problems you may have, and act as an unpaid consultant for any security matterss you wish to discuss.

By donating you are not only helping me work towards my goals and helping me achieve a very important milestone, you are investing in the future of our nations security. I intend on inspiring and teaching others in the future, so your small donation may ultimately end up training hundreds of skilled workers. We need trained cyber security specialists badly right now. It may not be seen and recognized by your average person, but even the US Government has issued directives and policies to address the shortfall. We need all hands on deck when it comes to cybersecurity, and your donation will be directly contributing to this.