I am currently starting from the very beginning with study for my compTIA A+. exam. Which road should I travel to lead me working as an Ethical Hacker. Has anyone heard of HackerOne? Is this a good company?
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Beginning as an Ethical Hacker
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Greetings, @Keith-Taylor !
If you're looking to become an ethical hacker, you're going to need a few basic skills. You've started at the most logical entry-point which is A+. It gives you a great foundational set of skills in many areas of technology which you will build upon. I would suggest then rounding out those skills with Network+ and Security+.
From there you're going to need to get some specialized training in both Linux and Windows(desktop and server). Certs that would give you those skills would be like LPIC1 and/or Linux+ as well as MD100/101 for Microsoft.
You should be then be ready to really focus on ethical hacking certs such as Pentest+, CEH, EJPT, OSCP, etc.
It is also EXTREMELY helpful to have picked up some programming/scripting skills. Bash, python, ruby, PowerShell, javascript, and php. I'm not saying you need to be a full on dev, but the more you know about coding the better hacker you'll be. I'd also get familiar with web dev and applications. Again, you don't need to be a web dev, but the more you know about it, the better hacker you'll be. Oh and some basic database administration would be good too. (MySQL, MSSQL, NoSQL)
HackerOne is a popular bug bounty platform. They have many great resources and are well respected in the industry. BugCrowd is another. Most successful professional bug hunters utilize these platforms (as well as others) and as you build your reputation, you will get invites to private bug bounty programs which can be lucrative.
I hope this helps.
Cheers,
DanielITProTV
Show Host