In America, a new kind of draft is calling on students to counter cyber terrorism. In 2010, the United States needed 20,000 cybersecurity experts but only had about 1,000. The U.S. government is recruiting young people to create a workforce of hackers in order to defend the US from cyber attacks.
The next generation of white hat hackers live within the U.S. A survey of 200 well-known hackers reported that 70 percent live in America, that 90 percent are male and that the average age of a hacker is 16 - 19 years old.
While teenage hackers are mostly self-taught, there are some notable programs to help them. CODEHS is a company that aims to provide online programming classes in high schools, Code Academy is a free online school to teach anyone how to code and Sans Institute is a cybersecurity school.
The world is in great need of hackers. The United States and its allies are pouring money into computer defense, Western governments spending a total of $35.5 billion on telecommunications and cyber security in 2010. Entry level "ethical hackers" can earn between $50,000 and $100,000 each year.
In this infographic, homeland-security-degree.org explores the world of hacking for cybersecurity as well as where the future is headed for young hackers.