An ordinary teenager preparing for the testing phase, even if his life hasn’t followed such a “normal” path. Jackson Henry, at the age of 17, changed the term “hacker” for people who know him. In the tech world, he is known as a “white hat” or, more simply, an ethical hacker.
Photo: ABC News / Rhiannon Shine.
Teenage hacker against cybercrime
Hackers and ethics, in one sentence and without criticism? Well, that was exactly the nomenclature that the teenager received. For Jackson, the term “hacker” is still useful to describe crimes, but what sets it apart is the issue of unethical behavior. The boy’s task is to find loopholes in the system to help companies.
According to Jackson, vulnerabilities are found and can then be fixed. This setting means that the system is always in an advanced state in the face of possible threats. It’s been a while since the teenager took over his space.
At the age of 15, Jackson was recognized by the UN (United Nations) for discovering a misconfiguration in the system that disclosed personal data of United Nations employees. The teenager, along with a group of “ethical hackers,” found more than 100,000 confidential records.
Ethical hackers reported the system problem to the UN via the Vulnerability Disclosure Program (VDP).
Cyber attacks are real and happen frequently
In Australia, the need for cyber security has impacted millions of people. According to a report by the company CyberCX, more than 30,000 new employees are needed in the region to be able to offer security in the coming years. Therefore, action would be urgent and strategically important to combat cybercrime.
In the US, “ethical hackers” are rewarded for helping companies with their cyber vulnerabilities.