How can White-hat Hackers Help Protect Websites?

Wondering what role do white-hat hackers play in protecting websites? We have got you covered. This article talks about ways in which ethical hackers can help you protect your websites, guiding you on how to become one.

Table of Contents 

  • Who are White-Hat Hackers?
  • Ways in Which White-Hat Hackers can Help you Protect Your Websites
  • Tips to Help Keep Your Site Safe Online
  • Concluding Lines: How to Become a Certified White-Hat Hacker

Who are White-Hat Hackers?

White-hat hackers, also known as ethical hackers, employ their powers to identify potential threats to computer systems, servers, or networks. These are authorized hackers who are allowed to hack the systems with the owner’s permission in order to identify potential data breaches and threats existing in the system. 

Demand for ethical hackers/white-hat hackers is soaring as they help in discovering vulnerabilities and help you improve your security, keeping threats at bay.
If you are looking for career opportunities in the cybersecurity domain, get ready to develop the skills required to learn and manage cyber risk and implement the right security controls with Global Tech Council. 

Ways in Which White-Hat Hackers can Help you Protect Your Websites

As you have understood who white-hack hackers are, let’s explore ways by which ethical hackers can help you protect your website. 

Responsible Disclosure

Responsible disclosure is the first step towards bringing companies and white-hat hackers closer together. It is a vulnerability disclosure model that allows ethical hackers and security researchers to examine for vulnerabilities and report them to the vendor without running the legal action risk. When a company implements a Responsible Disclosure Policy, it means that the organization has allowed white-hat hackers to hack and report the vulnerabilities they find on their websites. 

Bug Bounty

The bug bounty activity is gaining a lot of popularity thanks to the shift in security strategies. It is considered to be a great savior from severe vulnerabilities. Hackers all around the world are earning from bug bounties. Bug bounties allow hackers to get paid for detecting vulnerabilities and risks, while organizations benefit from tightening their security. 

The majority of organizations do not run bug bounty programs on their own, but they partner with HackerOne or other platforms to structure their bug bounty program and get access to qualified and skilled white-hat hackers. 

Automated Bug bounty

Unlike bug bounty, where many ethical hackers test your system at once, automated bug bounty is all about regular security testing using a fully-automated and up-to-date service. In this activity, a white hat hacker discovers vulnerabilities, reports these vulnerabilities to vendors, whose proof of concept submission is reviewed by an ethical hacking platform that combines bug bounties with automation. After this, the submission is implemented into the hacking platform scanner as a security test, and finally, a new security test is included in all clients’ web applications. 

Every time the security test recognizes a vulnerability, the white-hat hacker gets a payout.

Tips to Help Keep Your Site Safe Online

Now, as you have already understood how ethical hackers can protect your websites, let’s have a look at some of the tips for optimizing your website security and avoiding hacking disasters.

  • Install security plugins.
  • Keep software up to date.
  • Use HTTPS
  • Protect against XSS attacks.
  • Check your passwords.
  • Invest in automatic backups.
  • Use parameterized queries and CSP.

Concluding Lines: How to become a Certified White-Hat Hacker

Becoming a White Hat hacker has been made easy, all thanks to online platforms that are offering online training and certification courses. If this profession interests you, you can get enrolled in Global Tech Council and become a Certified White Hat Hacker. 

This specialized course trains individuals on topics ranging from the very basics of white hacking such as introduction to White Hat Hacking, fundamentals of the systems, explorer cryptography, basics of footprinting to the high-level concepts such as hacking the system, malware in detail. 

Getting certified as a White Hat Hacker from Global Tech Council will prove to be a stepping stone in the advancement of your career.

To learn more about cybersecurity certification courses and become a certified cybersecurity professional, check out Global Tech Council.