“HACKING”, a familiar word that sweats out all the toxins out of our body, due to Fear. But, not all Hackers hack systems to know what you talk to your better half! Meet GAUTAM MAYEKAR – An Ethical Hacker! Yes you read it right. ‘Goan Ladka Mai, Desh Bhar Mein Charcha hai’ suits Gautam perfectly who happens to be a voracious reader turned into an Author and is a White-hat Hacker!
Here is what GAUTAM MAYEKAR told INN about Ethical Hacking and his book “I’m So HACKED”.
1) How did you get into the field of Hacking?
>> Well, we have to go back to those Orkut days for this answer. I was interested in tweaking content and playing with some web scripts. That was the start. And I have a curious mind, I want to know what goes in people’s mind and also their life. Hacking is all about using those technological gimmicks (and some social engineering) to break the systems.
2) What is the difference between Hacking and Ethical Hacking?
>> Hacking is gaining unauthorized access and exploiting the information. Ethical Hacking is when you do it with maybe permission of the user or for a good cause with an intention to help or fix those issues.
3) How do people react to your job profile? Any fun incidences?
>> People are interested because there is always a curiosity associated with hacking and not everyone is aware of the technological implications of it. Hacking is not magic like how they show in movies where you punch a few keys and you get “access granted”, it’s about discovering the bugs in the system that lets you exploit it. The word “Hacking” has become a cult word, that’s why you always see those of us in this field using the word “cyber security professional” often instead of ethical hacker.
4) Are there instances when people ask you to hack their Girlfriends accounts and how do you react to it?
>> Absolutely. I get those DMs all the time on social media and even within my circle. I just laugh it off but most times I patiently explain them that it’s not legal and also there are lot of ifs and buts involved.
5) Do people ask you to teach them Hacking?
>> Yes, these are more sensible questions to which I patiently address. I tell them about courses such as CEH which is a good start. But once you get that start, then its all about honing your skills on platforms which help you do hacking ethically such as some bug bounty sites (hackerone, bugcrowd etc)
6) You have a great sense of writing. How did you develop that skill in you?
>> Thank you. Writing is something which I was always interested in. It’s a hobby I developed during my childhood being a voracious reader.
7) Talking about ‘Im So HACKED’ – How did the book writing journey start and how did people respond to the book as it had a very different genre?
>> Well, I wrote few blogposts. Those blogs had a techno theme with realistic hacking scenarios and usual IT employee masala. People started liking them and asked me to make a book out of it. Which I did when i got a strong plot to associate those blogs with. Response was good, even though i used to write since my college days, I always wanted to enter market with something different, and this book became that. I am happy with how the response has been so far.
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8) Writing and Hacking seems to be poles apart. How do you manage to transit between the two?
>> Haha, well, If you see my engineering transcript – I have 80+ in communication skills , a subject which we had in 1st semester. And 80+ in cyber forensic, an internet security related subject which we had in final year. I have just passing marks in rest all subjects. So, it had to be these two things. Iss paar ya uss paar, there is no middle ground for me. I dont know what I would have been doing if not for these two. It might seem poles apart, but for me those two are my only area of interest and although things havent always been easy and rosy, I am happy that I am doing what I like 🙂
9) What other than Hacking and Writing do you prefer doing in your free time and why?
>> I am from Goa, a beach child. And I do enjoy fishing. (not to be confused with “phishing” of hacking) and I play table tennis and football and do gymming. Sports and activities bring you joy and keep you physically and mentally fit and fresh. It also helps bring out the ideas better.
10) Recently, India has ranked second in the list of ‘Most CYBERATTACKS’ in the world. What do you think of the recent Hacking culture that is prevailing in the country?
>> Oh, I wasn’t aware of that. But then, these statistics are flawed, its impossible to track all the attacks. There are many factors involved. An attacker can be country sponsored, working on his own, hacktivists who try to disrupt system etc etc. We never know if those attackers are Indians or outsiders. Speaking specifically with regards to our country, I do believe that we need to beef up the security of our websites and all the devices connected to the internet. We need to take proactive approach instead of reactive approach. And that’s where we ethical hackers and cyber security guys are trying to do. Minimize the vulnerabilities and potential threats and entry points as much as we can.
11) Why do you think Cyberattacks are taking place like the Financial Frauds and the ATM hacks and Social Media hacks?
>> Financial frauds and ATM hacks are like bank robberies. An attackers (robbers) can now stay anonymous and get rich instead of physically going out there with guns and masks. As far as social media hacks are concerned, the information that we put up on social media can help attackers in many different ways. You cant put your “forgot my password” question as “What my cat’s name” and then go on sharing your cat pictures on social media with a tag “My TOM is the best”. No, your TOM is the reason you will lose your account. Like I said earlier, if users are smart enough with their approach on using internet, it greatly nullifies the risk.
12) Where do you see Ethical Hacking, as a career, in the next 5 years?
>> It’s a vast field. with advent of new technologies and new devices connected to internet, the risks associated with them is also increasing. Ethical hackers are needed for uncovering cyberfrauds, for antivirus companies to research new virus and threats, for companies to monitor their infrastructure and data, for assessment of websites from security standpoint before they go live, for compliance analysis and certificates and many other roles. And it will continue to grow.
13) What are a few suggestions you would want to give to our readers about keeping their accounts safe from being Hacked?
>> Always be cautious while clicking on any malicious looking links. Check the details and message digests of the emails that you receive if you find it suspicious. Keep strong passwords, Do not share your OTP with anyone, make use of password vaults. There are various ways through which attackers can try and exploit you, but if you are smart and cautious enough, it greatly reduces your chances of being exploited.
14) Can you give the upcoming Ethical Hackers some tips?
>> Learn the concepts well, focus on scenarios instead of just tools and techniques. Don’t get into illegal hacking. Instead learn from portals which provide you opportunity to do bug bounty. Make best use of google.
With this, a very ‘Hacking’-enlightening interview, came to an end with our Ethical Hacker – GAUTAM MAYEKAR.
