Codebreakers Chronicles: Ethical Hacking Journey with Akhilesh Kumar

Beginning of the Game

So, My journey for ethical hacking started in my early years, (from my childhood). In summary, I was in seventh grade when I noticed that my friend was using the internet without a data pack. I was interested as to how he achieved this, but naturally, he did not tell me. Why?  Did a magician share his magic trick with you? I think I made my point clear. Another friend of mine advised me to ask all of my questions to google rather than to people. I then followed the instructions, and guess what? It significantly altered my life in addition to giving me free internet.

Progressive Attitude

In 2022 I had a major breakthrough that allowed me to fully immerse myself in it and acquire more technical knowledge. I started to gain knowledge from a variety of sources, including books, write-ups, YouTube, Pentest labs, and more. I then began looking for bugs in random programs that weren't listed on any bug bounty platforms and after working for VI (Vodafone Idea) for almost six months and discovering over thirty bugs, I took part in TataPlay bug bounty program, which resulted in my first highest payout to date, my first goodie bag, and my first hall of fame in addition to a certificate and so on the process continues. My primary objective is to find as many bugs as possible in various programs. Also, I started looking for bugs on other websites which don't have any bug bounty program which has been really helpful. 

Challenges

While I'm doing bug hunting, some websites give me extremely polite responses, correct the reported bug, and even give me a gift card, money transfer, certificate of gratitude, or other kind of appreciation. Other websites, on the other hand, don't even fix the bugs. I have also encountered websites that secretly fix bugs without ever getting back to me. This can occasionally be frustrating because it takes a significant amount of effort to identify a bug, write a thorough report about it with a Proof of Concept (POC) video, and occasionally retest the bug to see if the patch was implemented correctly. Additionally, after completing every step, it hurts when the bug was found to be duplicate or irrelevant. That's where burnout begins.

Motivation

It's still a creative and interesting field in spite of all the difficulties. Because we are human and not machines(at least for now), take regular pauses whenever burnout strikes. Since the internet is constantly changing, never stop learning new things and staying current. The most crucial thing is to practice until you become proficient. You are aware that the wrong path will frequently cross your path, but that only serves to highlight how important the right path is.

Conclusion

Let's summarise everything and conclude by stating that, as technology advances daily, so does the risk involved too. The procedure is never-ending. We are here to secure it for that reason. Continue hunting and keep up the good work!!

Also, I would like to express my gratitude to Com Olho for their tremendous support and recognition.