These hackers who make a lot of money… legally
There is a category of hackers who make a lot of money while remaining within the bounds of legality.
They are usually called ethical pirates or white hat pirates. Their work is very simple but at the same time complicated. Indeed they are usually engaged by private and public structures to detect vulnerabilities in computer systems or in programs and software before this is by malicious hackers, who are called black hat hackers.
"I discovered that I could exploit the code and even delete a video uploaded by Mark Zuckerberg if I wanted to," Pranav, an ethical hacker living in the Indian city of Pune, told the BBC. this young hacker was rewarded with a 5-digit check after revealing this bug to the American Facebook group, via his bug program Bounty. The concept of the Bounty bug means the hunt for security vulnerabilities, which is something very trendy nowadays. Almost all large private and public structures have one day done, or are continually doing, this type of program. And with a growing digital industry, it's not going to stop anytime soon. this creates jobs and it must be admitted that the majority of security vulnerability hunters are mostly young. The age range ranges from 18 to 29, and rewards can be as high as millions of dollars. However, it should be noted something important, the premiums vary depending on the companies that offer these bounty hunts and the nature of the flaw discovered. In this context, some even make it their main source of income. "Premiums are the only source of income for me," says Shivam Vashisht, an ethical hacker living in northern India who made more than $125,000 last year. "I legally hack into the world's biggest companies and get paid for it, which is fun and challenging. ».
On the other hand, a large part of the of these hackers are either self-taught or have learned piracy by common practice. "I've gone from many sleepless nights learning about hacking and the process of attacking Systems. I even dropped out of university in the second year. ». From there he was easier for this young person to turn his computer skills into a activity that could make him a lot of money. He is not alone in this case. Another pirate Named Jessy Kinser wrote: "My interest in piracy took off at university when I started doing a lot of independent research on mobile piracy and forensics digital (…) During a project, I found a way to introduce malicious applications into the Android app store without detection. »
It is very clear that premium programs following the discovery of security flaws played a very important role in their motivation. "These programs are a legal alternative for people who would otherwise be inclined to engage in harmful activities to hack into a system and sell its data illegally. says Terry Ray, Chief Technology Officer of Imperva, a data security firm.
Now access an unlimited number of passwords:
