Startup businesses face many unique challenges. As the owner or manager of a new company, you understand the complexities that come with your new territory. While it’s impossible to anticipate every possible adverse outcome, there are ways to minimize negative impacts and secure your company’s information and user data. Hiring an ethical hacker is one of the best ways to improve your cybersecurity. Learn more about this role, including how it can protect your business and what you should expect after hiring.
What does an ethical hacker do?
Hacking is the process of gaining unauthorized access to cyber information. When considering this term, people might think of unethical hacking, which involves a malicious third party looking for sensitive information to use against a business or its users. Unethical hackers often seek financial gain from obtaining this information, holding data to force businesses to buy it back, selling the information to competitors, or stealing personal user information like names and credit card numbers to support their own purchases.
However, businesses can use hacking methods to identify weaknesses and protect information. Ethical hacking typically refers to the authorization of an individual to simulate cyberattacks. Ethical hackers test security by attempting to penetrate applications, websites, and computer systems. These hackers often work in business, medical, and financial settings.
Public and private organizations rely on ethical hackers to keep systems secure and protect business and client or patient information. Ethical hackers use the tactics a malicious third party may implement to determine where a company can improve its security. Rather than keeping information for themselves, ethical hackers report their findings to businesses and share tips for improvement.
Why should your startup hire an ethical hacker?
Technology constantly advances, and so do the threats that come with it. Over the years, many companies have faced security breaches that compromised personal information for billions of users and millions of files. Small and large businesses alike can succumb to malicious third parties and viruses, highlighting the increasing need for preventive security measures and proactive approaches. Hiring an ethical hacker is one of the best ways to combat unethical hacking.
An ethical hacker can help you address these cybersecurity concerns by:
- Identifying risks: Ethical hackers use best practices and extensive cybersecurity knowledge to identify potential security risks. These workers determine where you can improve your security to protect information and prevent unauthorized access.
- Ensuring compliance: For many industries, maintaining cybersecurity compliance is crucial. Although the rules and regulations can vary by industry and organization, the bottom line is that every organization must meet certain standards. Ethical hackers are knowledgeable about cyber compliance and can help your business adhere to all relevant regulations while implementing best practices.
- Enhancing customer trust: Whether you store health information, credit card numbers, names and addresses, or complex business strategies, you must protect your sensitive information. When you exhibit exemplary security measures and have a proven track record of success, your existing clients can feel secure, and you can improve your reputation to attract new customers.
- Improving security cost-efficiency: Another significant benefit of hiring an ethical hacker is unlocking cost savings. During the COVID-19 pandemic, ethical hackers caught $27 billion worth of vulnerabilities before they could be exploited. An ethical hacker can also let you know where your security efforts are most necessary, empowering you to allocate the necessary resources effectively.
What should you expect after hiring an ethical hacker?
Although an ethical hacker becomes an extension of your team, they will have several daily tasks that can look different from the rest of your team. Daily tasks for an ethical hacker could include:
- Security audits: Security audits are comprehensive assessments detailing the condition of your security measures and integrity. These audits are crucial to ethical hacking because they require your hackers to evaluate all organizational security aspects to identify potential weaknesses. You can use these documents to assess your progress over time, keep a record of patterns, and measure strategy success.
- Attending meetings: Your hacker should attend any meetings related to your organization’s security. These meetings can align the ethical hacker with your institutional goals and make them aware of upcoming changes, previous cybersecurity attempts, and your highest priority areas. The meetings are also an opportunity for the ethical hacker to present their findings, report on new trends, and offer insight into best practices.
- Attempting to break into systems: The most significant part of an ethical hacker’s job is trying to break into your systems, networks, and applications. This process is known as penetration testing and aims to replicate or mimic the actions an unethical hacker might take to gain access to your systems. If your hacker successfully breaks into your system, you can use their experience to build more robust security measures.
- Researching or training: Ethical hackers must remain up to date on emerging practices in unethical hacking. Your team will only benefit from hiring an ethical hacker if they can proactively prevent malicious attacks. From reading blogs and participating in training sessions to implementing new practices, an ethical hacker will invest significant time in researching and training.
Protect your business by hiring an ethical hacker
In our digital age, the growing importance of cybersecurity is clear. Regardless of your specific business model, industry, or information, protecting your data is crucial for business success. Hiring an ethical hacker is one of the best ways to ensure your security, empowering you to attract new customers, remain competitive, and unlock peace of mind.
Zac Amos is the Features Editor at ReHack, where he covers business tech, HR, and cybersecurity. He is also a regular contributor at AllBusiness, TalentCulture, and VentureBeat. For more of his work, follow him on Twitter or LinkedIn.
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