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Computer hacking is estimated to cost enterprises in Britain £10 billion in damages each year, so the unveiling of Britain’s first degree course in hacking may have many businesses perplexed.

However, the course at Dundee’s University of Abertay is aiming to produce more ethical hackers, nicknamed ‘white hats’, who will be able to help protect companies against the threat posed by their cyber criminal counterparts, known as ‘black hats’.

The course is similar to training schemes and degrees already offered in the US and Hong Kong and will be the first government-accredited computer hacking course in the UK.

Students on the course will be subjected to a vetting process by both the Home Office and Foreign Office in a bid to ensure that the course is not abused by potential cyber criminals.

Professor Lachlan MacKinnon, the head of computing and creative technologies at the University of Abertay, highlighted the increasing threat presented by cyber criminals.

"If I can steal a log-on and a password to get personal information, I can use the system to order things, make inquiries, get your credit cards stopped and strip your identity away,"  he said.  ‘The technology exists to allow the things that happened to Will Smith in Enemy of the State to happen to you.’

Professor MacKinnon commented: ‘We will be monitoring the students very closely because we want them to come out the other end as ethical hackers"

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Chris Leckness is the Owner/Administrator of Mobilitysite. He is a Microsoft MVP, Mobile Devices and a member of the exclusive focus group, Mobius. Chris runs a Mobilitysite, GotZune, and a few other smaller sites and blogs. His personal blog is chris.leckness.com.