Ethical hackers in Singapore could soon require a license to get their hands dirty, so to speak. The small Asian nation is currently requesting feedback on a proposed cybersecurity bill which will see ethical hackers having to obtain a license to do their work, and although it could seem quite restrictive, both the hacker and the company that developed the buggy software could benefit.
Section D of the press release regarding the new bill reads:
“The Bill proposes licensing the provision of penetration testing and managed security operations centre (SOC) services. The need for credible cybersecurity services will grow as cybersecurity risks become more mainstream. The proposed licensing framework aims to help provide greater assurance of safety and security to customers of cybersecurity services, address information asymmetry in the industry and provide for improving the standards of cybersecurity service providers and professionals.”
In terms of high-level benefits, companies will be able to hire more trustworthy people to find vulnerabilities. Secondly, there have been incidents in the past where hackers have been tinkering with software and reported bugs to the company responsible for the software. But rather than saying “thank you”, the company has gone after the hacker with a legal team, resulting in lengthy and expensive litigation and even jail time. By licensing hackers, Singapore could be making it safer to ethically hack.
Source: The Next Web | Image via Abine