After five days learning how to enter networks illicitly, 12 more white-hat hackers have joined the growing ranks of IT experts who think and act as the bad guys do.

Heightened security concerns have led to a jump in demand for consultancy Ernst & Young's eXtreme Hacking Course, a master class for network professionals employed by major corporations, government departments, law enforcement agencies and IT firms.

The leader of last week's course in Sydney, Ernst & Young director Darren O'Loughlin, said the aim was to encourage a new mindset.

"Let's say we've got a suburb where there's a burglar going around, breaking into homes, so people put bars on their windows," he said.

"In fact, the modus operandi is that he's coming through the roof - just flicks off a few tiles and he's straight in."

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