What is your image of a hacker?
In this What That Means video, Camille talks with Ted Harrington, author of HACKABLE: How to Do Application Security Right and the Executive Partner at Independent Security Evaluators. They get into the difference between a good and a bad hacker, interesting discoveries about hacking on dating apps, and how ethical hacking teams help improve security.
What Is the Difference Between a Good Hacker and a Bad Hacker?
Tom explains to Camille that hacking is a neutral action and that people can either use it for bad or good purposes. The difference is intent. Someone with malicious intent will hack into a system to exploit its vulnerabilities, while someone with a defensive intent will use hacking techniques to improve a system’s security. The latter is ethical hacking.
Beyond technical skills, Ted also shares the three most important qualities every ethical hacker must have: a problem-solver mindset, perseverance, and a relentless pursuit of excellence. These qualities, along with a true passion for ethical hacking, are what make someone a good hacker.
Hacking Dating Apps
Ted’s team frequently researches new areas in hacking, with some interesting results. Some recent research uncovered how easy it was for hackers to manipulate data in dating apps. This could be done by changing the voting data of users such as swiping left and right on potential dating matches. The implications of this data manipulation involve users’ privacy and hackers potentially accessing their personal data.
Ensure Security with an Ethical Hacking Team
Ethical hacking teams are vital to the security of any software or hardware development. Just as you wouldn’t wait to test a car’s safety until after you’ve built it, Ted emphasizes how the same is true for ethical hackers and security. Too often, companies bring in ethical hacking teams too late into the development process. By the time the team is able to identify security vulnerabilities, significant portions of the project or the entire project may need to be redone. Bringing in an ethical hacking team early on and throughout development can prevent significant loss of time, effort, and even money.
Ted Harrington, Executive Partner at Independent Security Evaluators and Author of HACKABLE: How to Do Application Security Right
Ethical hacking pro Ted Harrington leads a highly skilled team of ethical hackers at Independent Security Evaluators (ISE). ISE has helped global companies like Google, Amazon, and Netflix fix security vulnerabilities. The company additionally founded IoT Village, which has won the DEF CON Black Badge three times. Beyond his work with ISE, Ted is also the author of HACKABLE: How to Do Application Security Right. You can learn more about Ted’s ethical hacking work on his website tedharrington.com.
#ethicalhacking #hacker #security
The views and opinions expressed are those of the guests and author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Intel Corporation.
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