top ten company that hire hackers

Introduction：

1、Why Companies Hire Hackers for Security

2、Should companies hire criminal hackers？

3、Why are there companies that hire hackers

Why Companies Hire Hackers for Security ♂

　　Companies hire hackers to make more secure systems. Hackers identify weak points in firewalls and systems that other hackers would otherwise exploit. This gives companies an edge and lets them shore up areas vulnerable to data breaches.

　　Companies that hire a hacker believe that it takes a thief to catch a thief. Former criminal hackers like Kevin Mitnick, who as imprisoned five years for his hacking exploits, have started their own cyber security companies. Hacking brings with it a certain knowledge set that traditional education doesn’t supply. Many companies believe they need this skill set to protect the customers and business data.

　　Black hat hackers aren’t the only ones being hired for their deep knowledge of hacking skills. Governments and businesses are now hiring so-called white hat hackers, ethical hackers that strive to help companies create secure systems protected from bad actors.

　　Besides their experience infiltrating networks, white hat and gray hat hackers have job security for another reason — there simply aren’t enough cyber security professionals to go around. More and more universities are creating programs specifically geared toward producing qualified cyber security professionals. Companies probably welcome these programs, especially with the number of data breaches constantly on the rise.

　　Many of those who apply for cyber security jobs lack the experience needed to adequately protect a company’s data. This leaves them scrambling to hire H-1B workers from other countries, where the skill set is more prevalent, and applicants are highly motivated to succeed.

　　Until the pool of candidates for cyber security jobs grows, companies may have no choice but to hire hackers to fill in the gaps. Even after students get a cyber security or hacking degree, they need real-world experience to be useful.

Should companies hire criminal hackers？ ♂

　　The rationale for hiring criminal hackers is based on the thinking that “It takes a thief to catch a thief.” But some in the security community — including some hackers at the Black Hat conference this week — say that it is no longer necessary.

　　It’s not as if the debate is even close to being over — there are numerous cases of criminal hackers turning from the dark side to help the “good guys.” Among the most famous is Kevin Mitnick, who was arrested in 1995 and, starting in 1999, served five years in prison for hacking crimes including breaking into the FBI phone system while the agency was chasing him.

　　[See also: New malware technique targets intrusion-prevention systems]

　　Mitnick describes himself in a memoir called “Ghost in the Wires” as once “the world’s most wanted hacker.” He now runs his own successful, legitimate consulting business, Mitnick Security Consulting, where he is paid to help companies by exposing their vulnerabilities to people like his former self.

　　Misha Glenny, a UK journalist who has written extensively about illegal hacking and interviewed a number of well-known hackers, said in a TED Talk from a year ago: “We need to engage and find ways of offering guidance to these young people, because they are a remarkable breed.”

　　Glenny split illegal hackers into two camps. He said Anonymous and other “hacktivist” groups generally do not use their hacked information for financial gain. They argue that they are providing a service by, “demonstrating how useless companies are at protecting our data.”

　　He also described them as ideologues, who view themselves as the good guys, “battling a dastardly conspiracy — they say governments are trying to take over the Internet and control it, and that they are the authentic voice of resistance, be it against Middle Eastern dictatorships, against global media corporations, or against intelligence agencies. And their politics are not entirely unattractive.”

　　The other camp, composed of well-organized criminal enterprises, is in it for the money.

　　[See also: Organized cybercrime revealed]

　　But Glenny contends the profile of many illegal hackers from either camp is one of brilliant but socially awkward people who developed their skills in their teens, when their, “moral compass” had not yet developed. “Most did not demonstrate any real social skills in the outside world — only on the web. One other thing is the high incidence of hackers like this with characteristics of Asperger’s Syndrome,” Glenny said.

　　They should not be jailed, he said, “because they have lost their way or been duped.” He said the U.S. and UK should follow the lead of China and Russia, which are developing offensive cyber capabilities, “and recruiting hackers both before and after they become involved in criminal and industrial espionage activities and mobilizing them on behalf of the state.”

　　Those arguments are not entirely persuasive, however, to Aaron Cohen, a founder of the Hacker Academy, a cloud-based training program for information security professionals.

　　Speaking from the Black Hat conference on now in Las Vegas, Cohen said the general consensus of those in the industry is that “it depends” on individual circumstances. “In our circles, it is not a debate that happens that often,” but it comes down to, “how bad were they, and can they be made good?”

　　But Cohen said a more relevant issue is that enterprises don’t really need to hire criminal hackers and try to reform them. “A lot of guys are figuring out they can make a lot of money and don’t have to go to jail,” he said, adding that being socially awkward does not really justify criminal activity.

　　“I’ve met a lot of socially awkward people in our industry who have found their place — their niche,” he said. “This is a field that pays really well for good talent. You can be 23 and make more than $100,000 a year doing something that you love to do. So you don’t really have to hire bad guys. I can find just as many really good hackers who we’ll hire right out of college.”

　　That is also the general view of Teague Newman, an independent contractor and expert in penetration testing, who was part of a team that showed how jail security systems could be hacked and all the cell doors opened with a single phone call.

　　“Obviously [hiring an illegal hacker] is going to be situational,” Newman said. “You would want to know if it’s malicious, or for something they believe in.”

　　But while he said illegal hackers should not be shut out of the job market, he said: “I don’t know that that is a model people should strive for. Some people just shouldn’t be hired.”

　　Whatever the legal status of hackers, the demand for their skills is strong. Ashley Rowe reported last week in Information Technology that “hiring demand for hackers hit its highest levels in May 2012 with 977 online job ads. That is a 471% increase since its lowest point in February 2009.”

Why are there companies that hire hackers ♂

　　If we focus on the meaning of the word hacker , we can say that he is a person with great computer knowledge and who is dedicated to detecting possible failures in a software, system or any device. That already gives us an idea of why a company might be interested in hiring your services.

　　We must start from the basis that we live in times in which there are many security threats on the network. We are talking about viruses that can affect the functioning of a computer, ransomware that is capable of encrypting files and then asking for a ransom in return, Trojans that give a hacker total control …

　　In order to protect ourselves from all this, it is essential to have security barriers . An antivirus, for example, can perfectly help this. But it’s not enough. We must also have the systems updated and correct any vulnerabilities that may exist and, in addition, have the basic knowledge to avoid making mistakes.

　　If we think of a company, the last thing we mention can be a problem. There are not always workers who have knowledge in the proper use of a computer, for example. Sometimes they can make mistakes and put safety at risk.

　　A hacker will help that company detect possible vulnerabilities and recognize the risks that may appear when using a device or any program. We are especially talking about specific applications that an organization can use in its day-to-day life and that, in the event of a failure, could expose customer and worker data.

　　Do not confuse the hiring of a company of a hacker, something that exists, with that of a hacker. In the first case, a company can maliciously seek to attack the competition, obtain private data to gain an advantage, etc. In the second case, the goal is always to protect and never to attack.

　　The hackers hired by an organization will also be able to help the workers themselves to know how to act in case of being victims of some type of attack. This is very important to have a better understanding of what to do if they receive a suspicious email, a file that may contain malware or that have even been directly victims of a ransomware attack.

　　The best thing to prevent computer attacks on many occasions is knowledge . We need to know how to act, how to prevent and also how a hacker is going to attack. All of this can be taught by a professional hacker hired by that organization.

Related questions

Here鈥檚 a list of top ten companies known for hiring ethical hackers, penetration testers, and cybersecurity professionals to strengthen their defenses or offer security services. These organizations value skills in vulnerability research, red teaming, and threat intelligence:

1. Google

• Roles: Security Engineers, Threat Analysts, Project Zero Researchers
• Known for Project Zero, an elite team focused on zero-day vulnerability research. Acquired Mandiant (cyber forensics/incident response) in 2022, expanding its security workforce.

2. Microsoft

• Roles: Cybersecurity Analysts, Azure Security Engineers, MSRC (Microsoft Security Response Center)
• Runs one of the largest bug bounty programs and employs red/blue teams to protect cloud and enterprise systems.

3. IBM

• Roles: X-Force Red Team, Penetration Testers, Security Consultants
• IBM鈥檚 X-Force Red is a global team of hackers hired to simulate breaches for clients. Also offers cybersecurity services via IBM Security.

4. Amazon (AWS)

• Roles: Cloud Security Engineers, AppSec Specialists, Threat Intelligence
• Heavily invests in securing AWS infrastructure and hires ethical hackers to audit cloud environments and services.

5. Palo Alto Networks

• Roles: Cybersecurity Researchers, Threat Hunters, Unit 42 Analysts
• A top cybersecurity firm with teams like Unit 42 (threat intelligence) and Cortex XDR (attack detection).

6. CrowdStrike

• Roles: Incident Responders, Falcon OverWatch Analysts, Malware Researchers
• A leader in endpoint protection; hires experts to analyze breaches and track advanced threat actors (e.g., nation-states).

7. Cisco

• Roles: Talos Threat Researchers, Network Security Engineers
• Cisco Talos is one of the largest threat intelligence teams, reverse-engineering malware and defending networks.

8. HackerOne

• Roles: Security Consultants, Pentesters, Bug Bounty Program Managers
• A platform connecting companies with ethical hackers, but also employs full-time hackers for internal projects and client services.

9. Booz Allen Hamilton

• Roles: Cyber Warfare Engineers, Government Red Teamers
• A defense contractor hiring cleared professionals for U.S. government agencies (e.g., DOD, NSA) to conduct offensive security operations.

10. JPMorgan Chase

• Roles: Cybersecurity Analysts, Fraud Prevention, Red Team
• Financial institutions invest heavily in ethical hacking to protect customer data and comply with regulations.

Honorable Mentions:

• Bugcrowd (bug bounty platform with in-house security teams)
• Lockheed Martin (defense-sector red teaming)
• Tesla (vehicle/industrial system security)
• Deloitte (cybersecurity consulting and pentesting)

Key Notes:

• Many companies run bug bounty programs (e.g., Google, Microsoft, Meta) to crowdsource vulnerability discoveries.
• Government agencies like the NSA or CISA also hire ethical hackers but often require security clearances.
• Certifications (e.g., OSCP, CISSP) and hands-on experience (CTFs, labs) are critical for landing these roles.

Let me know if you'd like details on specific job requirements or how to prepare for these careers! 馃敀馃捇