Twitter pays hacker for bug detection

There's a legal way of hacking companies' websites and even being paid for it, BBC writes, citing the example of Jake Davis, who now works as a cyber-security expert.

Davis is also know by his online handle Topiary. In 2011, he was arrested for illegal hacking, following which he turned legal, being paid by Twitter to detect gaps in their system, BBC writes.

The term used is “ethical hacking”. Essentially, the hacker is paid by the company to hack into their site and detect security gaps and bugs.

– Twitter have paid me for disclosing bugs to them – Davis says.

He claims that hackers would do it without getting paid anyway, so the money is just a bonus. Davis also claims that, this way, hackers are diverted away from doing something malicious, because they get everything they want and a little bit of cash too.

– Facebook are particularly good, they have got a GBP 500 minimum for disclosing bugs to them – says Davis, who became a “white hat” (legal hacker) after his arrest. He used to work for LulzSec and Anonymous.

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