If you are a programmer who wants to get into the exciting and lucrative field of bug bounties, you might be wondering where to start and what skills you need to succeed. Bug bounties are rewards offered by companies or organizations for finding and reporting security vulnerabilities in their systems or applications. They can range from a few hundred dollars to tens of thousands of dollars, depending on the severity and impact of the bug.
In this blog post, I will outline a roadmap that can help you transition from a programmer to a bug bounty hunter. This roadmap is based on my own experience and research, but it is not a definitive or comprehensive guide. You should always do your own research and practice on various platforms and challenges to improve your skills and knowledge.
The roadmap consists of four main steps:
1. Learn the basics of web security and hacking
2. Practice on online platforms and CTFs
3. Participate in public bug bounty programs
4. Advance your skills and reputation
Let’s go through each step in more detail.
Step 1: Learn the basics of web security and hacking
As a programmer, you probably have some familiarity with web development and how web applications work. However, you might not be aware of the common security risks and vulnerabilities that affect web applications, such as SQL injection, cross-site scripting (XSS), cross-site request forgery (CSRF), broken authentication, insecure file uploads, etc.
To become a bug bounty hunter, you need to learn how to identify and exploit these vulnerabilities, as well as how to prevent them in your own code. You also need to learn how to use various tools and techniques that can help you in your hacking process, such as proxies, scanners, fuzzers, debuggers, etc.
There are many resources online that can help you learn the basics of web security and hacking, such as books, courses, blogs, podcasts, videos, etc. Here are some examples:
- Web Application Hacker’s Handbook: This is a classic book that covers almost everything you need to know about web security and hacking. It…
