In 2020, Twitter was hacked, despite having a bug bounty program approximately 130 high-profile Twitter accounts and $121,000 in Bitcoin were stolen. In 2016, Uber was hacked, despite having a bug bounty program approximately 57 million riders and drivers had their data stolen. To answer the initial question, should hacking software be free and legal, we must first answer the question, do bug bounty programs actually work? In 2014, Google was hacked, despite having a bug bounty program approximately 5 million Gmail passwords were leaked. Many ethical hackers use free and legal hacking software resources posted online to participate in the various bug bounty programs. Google, alone, has paid out more than $15 Million since the inception of Google’s Vulnerability Rewards Program in 2010, Google’s version of the bug bounty program. For example, Microsoft is offering numerous bounties in their Microsoft Bug Bounty Program, with a bounty award of up to $250,000 for a single ethical hack. The idea behind the “bug bounty program” is to make ethical hacking more lucrative than illegal or malicious hacking by allowing hackers to report their successful hacks to an entity in exchange for rewards or, most commonly, monetary compensation. An ethical hacker is one who uses their hacking skills “for good by helping protect themselves.” These ethical hackers may or may not be actively employed by said businesses, organizations, or Federal government agencies, but may operate through what is commonly called a “bug bounty program.” In fact, many businesses, organizations, and even Federal government agencies authorize and pay ethical hackers to hack into their computer systems with the goal of identifying vulnerabilities in their cybersecurity defenses before bad actors have the opportunity to exploit them. Thus, as long as you are given the authorization to hack into someone’s computer it is not illegal. How is this possible?! It is illegal to knowingly access a computer without authorization from its owner. Should hacking software be free and legal? If you are reading this and thinking well, surely, hacking software is only available to cybersecurity professionals and is illegal for the public to own you would be wrong! Hacking software is free and legal for the public to own! A simple Google search will result in many free and legal hacking software resources posted online for the public to download.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |