23-YO Indian ‘Ethical Hacker’ Earns ₹88 Lakhs A Year By Finding Bugs For Twitter, Instagram

While hacking can get you in jail, ethical hacking can help you build a career. Responsible hackers are resourceful and often warn companies about potential bugs on their websites or apps. Such talented people quickly get hired by top companies who wish to avoid cyber attacks.

One of them is an ethical hacker from north India. Shivam Vashist started exploring the world of ethical hacking when he was just 19. He earned his first bug bounty program at age 20 from InstaCart followed by MasterCard. As per the program he was supposed to find the smallest bugs that posed as a threat to the company’s digital business.

The 23-year-old is currently associated with San Francisco-based HackerOne which is vulnerability coordination and bug bounty platform that boasts of clients like Instagram, Twitter, Zomato, and OnePlus, reports Times Now. He reportedly makes over $125,000 (roughly Rs. 88.94 lakhs) in a year by finding bugs for them.

“On average, I am spending about 15 hours a week hacking. However, it varies from time to time, depending on my schedule. Some days, I might be working on something for days continuously, while at other times, I may not be hacking for weeks,” he was quoted saying by NDTV.

His family was concerned about him initially. “However, they came to understand what I was doing overtime, and know that an ethical hacker is completely legal, and a viable career. Since then, they have been very supportive,” he added. In fact, over the past few years, he has taught his brother about hacking and has even taken his family on sightseeing tours across the world.

Shivam is very passionate about his job and says, “Hacking gives me a high when I am able to think of creative ways to tackle the challenges and discover vulnerabilities that no one has yet found.” He feels every company should consider having the bug bounty program in place.

Also, according to him, India is on the digital path but computer security deserves more attention. “More cybersecurity awareness is needed. More education about security solutions and reaching out to the community of ethical hackers might be one of the ways to help,” he added.

Currently, there are only a few companies in India that have a bug bounty program in place. However, we’re sure with the increasing number of internet users, India will soon have the system in place.

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