Hackers do bem: system tests bring profit of up to R$ 600

When we talk about hackers Well, you might be imagining that these professionals are a kind of “Robin Hood” of the information technology world, right? But in fact, we can explain this role as people doing systems testing with a focus on looking for vulnerabilities that can cause problems for users.

Despite seeming something quite recent in Brazil, many companies abroad already pay people just to look for possible problems and don't skimp on the rewards for ethical hackers. Understand how those who work with bug bounty is achieving your goals and how you can become part of the team of good hackers.

Ethical hackers work against what professionals are known for

Good hackers, or professionals bug bounty, are the people who work to find a possible problem in companies' websites or systems. If the hackers we see in movies and series and even in real life work to leak information and copy customer information, the good hackers do just the opposite.

Through tests that can last for days, ethical hackers work to find any and all problems for people using the site. Imagine that you put your data on a website and due to a security breach, a malicious person gains access to your information? The problems can be immeasurable, depending on what ends up falling into the wrong hands. It is precisely to avoid this problem that there are professionals who perform these tests.

As soon as they detect a possible vulnerability issue, the good hackers put all the information in a report that will be submitted to the company. If approved, rewards are paid, reaching up to US$ 600 abroad. In Brazil, the value ends up being lower, where companies are paying R$ 15 thousand for each approved report.

How are systems testing done by good hackers?

Literally every layer of a website or system is tested by ethical hackers to find potential problems. A hacker attack simulation is performed to find out if, somehow, the data saved on the servers could be accessed. The main focus of those who work with big bounty it's finding problems in systems before bad actors discover the flaw and cause problems for customers.

In October this year, data from 1,75 billion users from companies like Amazon, Mercado Livre and even Americans were accessed by hackers who are not good, from a system vulnerability hariexpress. In the first six months of this year alone, Brazil suffered more than 16,2 billion attempted cyberattacks. Our country is also the fifth nation with the most ransomwares (“hijacking” of a system that is released only with payment of ransom) worldwide.

Brazilian companies are already choosing to pay rewards to bug bounty

Big names in the market like Nubank, C6 e OLX are already choosing to hire these professionals so that the safety of their clients is not affected at any time.

Citing practical examples, the good hackers managed to find 15 security problems in the Nubank, which is paying out rewards starting at $150,00 to select professionals. There is also a public mode of bug bounty, where anyone can perform tests on a company's system.

Another bank that is working with good hackers is C6, who arrived in Brazil less than five years ago. O C6 Bank is part of the team of companies that even have an internal team to look for possible failures in the system, but with the popularization of the modality, you can then count on a world team of professionals.

And did you know that a Brazilian managed to make money by finding a security hole in the Facebook? Now 16 years old, the student from Minas Gerais Andres Alonso Bie Perez managed to find a problem while developing an application, realizing that a malicious link in a filter Spark AR could give access to the account of the Instagram of a person through the platform's web client. This happened in October 2020.

When reporting the issue to the Facebook, Andres received the amount of US$ 25 thousand (at the time, worth R$ 130 thousand). The average value that the social network created by Mark Zuckerberg paid is around US$ 1,5 (R$ 8). The student learned to find vulnerabilities by watching videos on YouTube, and before receiving the value of the Facebook, had not yet received any value.

How to become one of the ethical hackers?

As you've noticed, it's important to be a person very interested in the information technology market to become part of the team of good hackers and earn money. A great course in the area can help, but there are videos on YouTube which can also be your gateway to this rewards market. It is also important that you have a computer just to carry out research and report for companies.

Billing opportunities can appear for meio of your registration on platforms of bug bounty that can help you build your networking. Outside the country, the most famous are HackerOne, BugCrowd e open bug bounty.

Brazil also has a platform just for good hackers, which is called BugHunt. Founded in March last year, the idea of ​​Brazilian Bruno Telles already has more than 7 thousand hackers registered and 25 active programs. To succeed in this market, it is important to always be improving and, of course, to have the curiosity to be able to find problems in systems of large companies.

As it involves security, Brazilian companies still do not work so much with the bug bounty, but with the advancement of digitalization during the pandemic, they should open space in this market next year. Did you know that there are good hackers? Have you ever thought about working with it? Tell us your opinion Comment!

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Sources: G1, EARTH, InfoMoney e Estadão