Washington ( CNN ) -- The Pentagon is training people to hack into its own computer networks . `` To beat a hacker , you need to think like one , '' said Jay Bavisi , co-founder and president of the International Council of Electronic Commerce Consultants , or EC-Council . His company was chosen by the Pentagon to oversee training of Department of Defense employees who work in computer security-related jobs and certify them when the training is complete . The Department of Defense does not consider this hacking . `` DoD personnel are not learning to hack . They are learning to defend the network against hackers , '' said spokesman Lt. Col. Eric Butterbaugh . But the EC-Council calls the program `` Certified Ethical Hacker certification . '' The purpose of the training is to teach Defense Department employees to defend their computer network . Almost 45,000 attacks on Defense Department computers were reported in the first half of 2009 , according to a government report . The report estimated that for all of 2009 , the number of attacks would be up 60 percent from the previous year . Fending off the attacks costs the Pentagon about $ 100 million . Bavisi said the training focuses on teaching the art of hacking , using the same tools and tricks that traditional hackers use to break into computer networks . The basic concept is Defense Department employees would use the training to hack into the department 's computers , Bavisi said . Once the ethical hackers find the vulnerabilities that unethical hackers could use to attack , they increase the security to remove the potential threat . He said they are like bodyguards for the Defense Department network . Their only goal is to defend the network , even if the means of doing so are similar to those used by cyberattackers , Bavisi said . This kind of training has been done before in the Defense Department on an ad hoc basis , said Bavisi . Now every Defense Department agency and unit is required to include hacker training as one option for employees involved in cybersecurity . EC-Council has 450 training partners that will handle standard `` ethical hacking '' training , which has been used by civilian agencies and private businesses for years . If a Defense Department agency wants its employees to focus on a particular type of hacker training , EC-Council will perform customized training . The training requires 40 hours of instruction and 4,500 pages of reading on the latest hacker techniques . Bavisi said that Defense Department employees who complete the training and certification will not be assigned to use their new knowledge to hack into privately owned or civilian computers . But he said that any kind of training , including ethical hacking , could be used for nefarious purposes . `` You can teach me to cut an apple with a knife , and I can turn around and stab you with the knife , '' Bavisi said . EC-Council will be paid a fee per student , between $ 450 to $ 2,500 depending on the extent of the training and certification . It wo n't be clear for months exactly how many students will be trained .
`` Certified Ethical Hacker certification '' trains employees to defend computer network . Comment: Aim of hacker training is to help workers protect the system from real hackers .