Hackers might have shaded pasts, but if hired can bring a lot of IT security expertise in the system. Should you consider hiring one?
In this Open Source Era where everything is easily available online, Internet has given various pros and cons to the IT world. Still company’s think that Hackers are the curse of the Cyber Security professional's existence when they goes unethical, but the truth is, hackers often understand the distinctions of Cyber Security better than an average CTO. So is it really secure to hire a Hacker in your IT team?
According to Anup Girdhar, Cyber Crime Investigator and CEO at Sedulity Groups, there could be various risks involved in hiring a Hacker, if hired without any ref check. It is recommended, that every organization should hire an Ethical Hacker," says Girdhar from Cyber Security & Ethical Hacking view point. However, this recommendation comes with a caution that "You really need to verify the background of the Hacker to make sure that he will not create any nuisance and use his expertise for the IT auditing for the positive cause in the organization.
It is very important to first understand the requirement of a Hacker as per their skill set and the work criticality as per your organization. For e.g. if your organization deals with Web Development than you require a secure code writer with the specialty in breaking the applications or to get through the database injections to understand and block the external attacks, If your organization deals with high end Network or Servers operations, then you require a Certified Cyber Security Professional who has broken into various technologies to find the vulnerabilities in the entire infrastructure and provide optimum level of security, Mr. Girdhar said.
Ref check is not always the only option when it comes to hiring a hacker. "It's an important call, which the senior management should take before sharing the confidential information with an Hacker". "You have to walk very carefully, especially when you hire a hacker to test a candidate whether he works like a Hacker or Cracker.