Hacking for good: what Ethical Hacking is and how it works

If someone introduced himself or herself to you as a hacker, would you be suspicious? You probably would. The term "hack" is closely associated with cybercrime. Its meaning however is wide-ranging and even includes professionals who work in benefit of businesses and data security -  Ethical Hackers.  

Cybersecurity expert and CEO of Hacker Rangers, Vinicius Perallis, explains:

"Hacking is nothing more than doing something in an easier, faster, and non-standard way. The term is used in many segments to describe the action of finding a different way of achieving a goal more efficiently. So, the ethical hacker is a professional who uses this logic to help defend a system.”

Ethical hacking is the act of simulating an attack on any type of software to test its security. The goal is to find and fix any bugs in the code before malicious hackers take advantage of these breaches to steal data or otherwise harm the company. 

In this regard, we can say that the process of ethical hacking is similar to a cyberattack. While cybercriminals use a breach in the system for their own benefit, stealing data or changing the code, the ethical hacker reveals the vulnerability to the company, which can then improve its security. This is why the term "Hacking for good" is used.

The costs of (the lack of) cybersecurity

According to a study by McAfee, businesses lost nearly $1 trillion in 2020 due to cyberattacks. And don’t think this is a problem faced only by big businesses: 43% of these attacks also affected small businesses. 

Unfortunately, the situation is likely to get worse in coming years. This is because the digital transformation is advancing much faster than cybersecurity, which remains off the list of priorities of many companies. Ethical hacking is one of the possible ways to reverse this situation, helping companies to protect themselves financially and to take better care of their customer, supplier and professional data. 

Hacking for good

In order to use ethical hacking in benefit of your business, you can hire ethical hackers to work internally and continuously for your company. In addition, you can seek a specialized consulting firm or even offer financial rewards to freelance professionals who find bugs in your systems. This last option is called Bug Bounty and can be created through platforms such as HackerOne, which acts as an intermediary between companies and trusted hackers. 

But it is important to highlight that ethical hacking does not (and should not) be a business’ only data security strategy. Since it is a process that requires highly specialized professionals, not all companies can afford it. Therefore, the ideal option is to develop a data security culture that provides tools so that all employees are able to identify flaws in the company's systems and processes, thus ensuring its cybersecurity, as explained by Vinicius Perallis: 

"When you develop a cybersecurity mentality, you empower all employees to act towards data protection. You help them understand how the company's systems and processes should work and what the best practices are to ensure this. This is what the Hacker Rangers do: they help create this cybersecurity mentality. And gamification helps stimulate both the search for knowledge and a proactive attitude, so that everyone can identify any security breaches and report them to the company."

If you want to learn more about how to develop a cybersecurity culture in your company, visit the Hacker Rangers website!

Article translated from: Hack do bem: o que é e como funciona o Ethical Hacking — Perallis Security