Keren Elazari is an internationally recognized security analyst, author, and researcher.
Since 2000, Keren has worked with leading Israeli security firms, government organizations, innovative start-ups, and Fortune 500 companies.
In this Help Net Security interview, she discusses the hacker mindset and its impact on cybersecurity.
She explores the significance of ethical hacking skills in cybersecurity strategies, emphasizing the role of bug bounty programs in fortifying cyber defenses and fostering innovation within tech teams.
Put simply, if you're constantly questioning and imagining the unimaginable, cybersecurity is a great career choice for you.
I like to refer to friendly hackers as the internet's immune system.
Hackers have the uncanny ability to think in unexpected ways, identify and find loopholes before anyone else does.
One topic which I have focused on my research work since 2014, is the growing adoption of bug bounty programs.
We all know how in the Wild West, a sheriff could offer a bounty to get the public to help him find the bad guys.
In our era, bug bounty programs are a way for companies like Intel, Microsoft, Google, Apple, Meta to offer a reward to hackers for finding software bugs or design failures - ones that even these huge, well-funded companies with top tier engineers, missed in their own security reviews.
Dozens of Fortune 500* companies have such programs in place, harnessing the power of friendly hackers as an external element of their cyber defense strategy.
In 2024, 17 out of the top 50 companies on the Forbes 500 list have a bug bounty program, mostly for the companies in the technology and communications sector).
In its essence, hacking is about creating new technologies or using existing technologies in unexpected ways.
It's about changing your technical reality, learning which software elements can be manipulated, changed or re-written completely.
For me, ideal organizations are tech-driven playgrounds that encourage experimentation and celebrate failure as progress.
Educators should embrace students' natural desire to break free and encourage them to hack, tinker, and break things.
Then give students room to rebuild - but with a crucial twist - do not hand over the answers.
Guide them through the troubleshooting process, help them analyze their mistakes, and empower them to find creative solutions to fix what they've broken.
Show students how their skills can be used to build amazing things and make the world a better place.
I believe the most important thing a teacher can do for their students is provide them with the moral compass, the guidance of HOW & WHY they should use their skills for good.
This Cyber News was published on www.helpnetsecurity.com. Publication date: Wed, 17 Apr 2024 05:58:05 +0000