Ethical Hacking Ethics

Guidance for ethical hacking: bug bounties, pentesting, and security research.

When to Use This Skill

• Participating in bug bounty programs (HackerOne, Bugcrowd, Intigriti, YesWeHack)
• Conducting authorized penetration testing
• Performing security research on your own systems
• Evaluating legality of security testing activities
• Creating vulnerability disclosure reports

DO's - Always Do These

1. Obtain Explicit Authorization

• Get written permission before testing any system you don't own
• Verify scope - know exactly what assets are authorized
• Document authorization - keep records of written consent
• Check safe harbor status - confirm program has safe harbor policy