The Neon Temple continues with its mission to make Tampa Bay the next hotspot for cybersecurity talent and training. In partnership with Popping Shells LLC, The Neon Temple will be hosting a bug bounty hunting workshop on April 17th starting at 11 am. The Temple knows the importance of secure web applications and secure code and is teaching those who want to learn how to monetize finding them. Many large companies that do business on the Internet have robust programs for freelance hackers to find parts of their site and products that can be exploited and point them out to the company to be fixed before an adversarial hacker exploits it for bad. The companies pay for each exploit found; the bigger the exploit, the bigger the paycheck for the hacker who found it.
As a cybersecurity guild, the Neon Temple lives by four values: “provide mentorship for those in need, provide training for those who seek it, nurture the hacker mindset, and thrive off of and seek out competition.” It’s doors are open and welcome any interested in hacking, be they professional or on day one of their journey to getting hired. The cybersecurity community of Tampa Bay is a tight-knit one. The Temple’s founding by some of Tampa Bay’s most active practitioners was to foster a robust hacker community to defend city, state, and country.
The workshop will be led by Michael “Turtle” Dorsey, CEO of the cybersecurity research company Popping Shells LLC. Dorsey, a cybersecurity practitioner of over 20 years, is one of the founding members of the Neon Temple as well as one of its serving Masters in Residence for matters of offensive security. “There is a significant shortage of qualified information security professionals in the workforce. Companies are in a constant struggle to hire and retain the high level of talent needed to secure their applications and infrastructure properly,” says Dorsey. He plans on covering topics ranging from the differences in the major bug bounty programs to submitting exploited vulnerabilities to be paid. When asked why he’s putting this workshop on for the community, Dorsey says “I’ve had the opportunity to familiarize myself with the various major programs and want to do my part in sharing that information with interested parties in the rest of the community.”
Trey “Treycraf7” Bilbrey, one of the three Managing Partners of the Neon Temple, mentions that the workshop will be going over the best ways to submit exploits to get paid, but attendees are asked to bring their own skillset and abilities to find the exploits before attending the workshop. “Fundamental knowledge of the pen-testing process and some skills with web apps, databases, and networking will go a long way in helping those who attend grasp the concepts. It is a foundational workshop for bug bounty hunting, not penetration testing, so come equipped with the requisite knowledge,” says Bilbrey, who himself has over a decade of hacking experience as a former member of the Armed Forces.
Events held by the Temple are typically limited to a select list of its members, but this workshop is open to the public. The event is scheduled for April 17th at 11 am at the Neon Temple in Ybor City. To learn more and register for the event, please visit https://www.eventbrite.com/e/148843483867 or https://theneontemple.com.
About The Neon Temple:
The Neon Temple is a member-driven cybersecurity guild and development center. Our community members are the best cybersecurity practitioners today who have come together to change the industry and defend what’s important. Membership benefits include a secure workspace, tailored resources, career and business opportunities, with regularly scheduled security focused programming for individuals and organizations that seek to grow and advance.
For more information, visit: https://www.theneontemple.com or email info@theneontemple.com