Learn to hack - the TOP 5 YouTube recommendations of our IT Security Consultants
by Tina Siering
When IT security talks about hackers, cybercriminals are often meant. Hackers find security gaps, penetrate networks and carry out illegal activities there. Data theft, espionage or paralyzing entire systems: In our digitized world, entire "business models" are based on the illegal activities of more or less professionally acting hackers. While the so-called "black hat hackers" are dedicated to criminal activities, white hats use their expertise in a positive sense. The "ethical hackers" also penetrate corporate networks, but do so with an official mandate. White-hat hackers test a company's IT systems through their attacks, thereby identifying security vulnerabilities - which are closed as a result of the attacks. White-hat hackers thus contribute to IT security. Finally, in the zone between black and white, there are the grey-hat hackers. These hackers also penetrate corporate networks - without official authorization - and thus expose security vulnerabilities. After a successful attack, the grey hats communicate their attacks to the affected company. Grey hats therefore work for a good cause out of their own motivation - even if the attacks are unauthorized and therefore actually illegal.
Whether white-hat, black-hat or grey-hat: the basis for successful hacking is always the willingness to learn. Ambition, motivation and personal commitment pay off particularly well in the field of ethical hacking. After all, pentesters are sought-after specialists who are inundated with well-paid job offers, especially in times of extensive digitization. But how do you get started in the field of ethical hacking?
A good pentester must have knowledge of IT system administration, should have acquired skills in application development, know attack techniques, be able to operate tools and create reports. As a basis, either an IT specialist training or even a computer science degree is recommended. And penetration testers are real practitioners. In addition to the basics of computer science, however, attack techniques must be learned first and foremost. The best way to do this is through self-study.
Recommended reading: These books provide useful specialist knowledge and offer the opportunity to deepen basic knowledge already acquired.
Knowledge can also be expanded through YouTube channels. We asked our IT security consultants for their favorite channels in the field of hacking and present herewith our top 5 most recommended channels!
The TOP5 YouTube recommendations of our IT Security Consultants
Top1: IppSec
More than 189,000 subscribers follow the channel IppSec on YouTube. The "person behind the channel" originally comes from the gamer scene and was one of the first paid streamers on Twitch. The contributions on IppSec are correspondingly accessible and interesting - albeit with a very strong technical focus. About once a week, the IT security expert publishes a video in which he hacks a box live on the "Hack the Box" training platform, describing his thought processes and approach. With numerous, detailed videos, IppSec is one of the most valuable channels in the IT security space. Be sure to check it out!
Top 2: John Hammond
John Hammond has been active in the field of IT security for many years as a senior security researcher - and as a content creator, his own YouTube channel now reaches more than 460,000 subscribers. John Hammond's channel is regularly filled with new content on the topics of IT security, pentesting and attack methods, about two to three times a week. A large part of the content deals with solutions and walkthroughs for "Hack the Box" and the "Try Hack Me" training platform. John Hammond succeeds in presenting even complex issues in an entertaining way. He arouses interest, presents content in a comprehensible way and does without unnecessary ballast: In our eyes, John Hammond's channel is one of the best offerings.
Top 3: LiveOverflow
LiveOverflow is the channel of a YouTuber from Berlin who specializes in videos about hacking and programming. 744,000 subscribers follow the channel, which is regularly filled with fresh content. English skills are also indispensable here, because the German YouTuber addresses an international target audience with his videos in English. Interesting here are also - and especially - the videos about hacking in video games. No less worth watching: numerous videos that deal with current vulnerabilities and the technology behind complex attacks. If you want to follow along in detail here, you should ideally already have some prior experience in network traffic and operating systems.
Top 4: InsiderPhD
Katie Paxton-Fear is the hacker behind InsiderPhD, a small but mighty YouTube channel that we wouldn't want to deprive you of under any circumstances. InsiderPhD focuses on hacking APIs, bug hunting, and using Burp Suite, a tool primarily used in the web application security space. InsiderPhD manages to present technical details in such a way that even beginners can easily cope with the complex content. A clear recommendation from our security experts!
Top 5: NahamSec
NahamSec offers a wide range of videos on the subject of hacking, with a focus on bug bounties. The numerous tech talks with well-known IT security experts, bloggers and insiders are particularly interesting. NahamSec's portfolio is complemented by NahamCon, a virtual hacking conference with other well-known figures such as John Hammond, STOKFredrik and TheCyberMentor. NahamSec is also an English-language channel, so appropriate language skills are absolutely necessary.
Conclusion
Cybersecurity is more important than ever and affects the public, organizations and businesses alike. Cyber attacks are one of the biggest threats worldwide. In this context, more and more hackers are pouncing on security gaps that can never be completely ruled out, even with high-performance IT security. With the help of regular pentests, these security gaps can be specifically identified. White-hat hackers penetrate corporate networks with an official mandate, find and fix security vulnerabilities. Pentesting is therefore an indispensable building block on the path to increased cyber resilience. With penetration testing from Allgeier secion, you achieve a comprehensive picture of how you are positioned in the face of real attacks. In addition to technical information on vulnerabilities and their remediation, we also highlight the concrete threats to operational business and provide strategic recommendations for measures to sustainably improve your security level. We offer all variants of penetration testing. In addition to the white box, black box and grey box audit methods, this also includes, for example, internal perpetrator simulation, social engineering audit, phishing simulation and red teaming.
Accordingly, specialists in this field are in high demand. Would you like to learn more about career opportunities in pentesting at Allgeier Secion? Then please feel free to contact us!
Need help upgrading your IT security for 2022? Contact us!
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