Marko @ X10 - A web producer blog

The University of Abertay Dundee in the UK is now offering a degree course called "Ethical Hacking and Countermeasures". This was reported by www.theregistry.co.uk, also known as "El Reg" today.

Accordingly the four-year degree "Ethical Hacking and Countermeasures" will be on offer from this September, and is designed to produce White Hat hackers, capable of working with businesses to defend their networks.

A university spokesman said the institution would be working with the Home Office, using "Home Office type procedures and Disclosure Scotland (Disclosure Scotland is part of the Scottish Criminal Record Office)" to rule out applicants with a criminal past.

The degree is the first of its kind in the UK, and is expected to attract a lot of interest from students.

Course leader professor Lachlan McKinnon tried to address concerns that the course would simply produce skilled hackers, saying the only sure-fire way to secure a computer is to unplug it.

He added: "We will monitor students closely because we want them to become ethical hackers. But there is no guarantee. Harold Shipman qualified as a doctor, after all, before deciding to become a murderer."

Other courses that can require background checks include medicine, dentistry and even speech science.