Muneeb Amin Bhat, a yoing cybersecurity researcher and ethical hacker from Zangulpora village in South Kashmir’s Kulgam district marked a significant milestone after he discovered a vulnerability on the NASA website and received acknowledgement from NASA for his findings.
In 2023, Muneeb also discovered a critical data vulnerability in Apple, which had put the data of 15,000 users at risk of leaking, among other vulnerabilities.
Sharing his experience Muneeb said, “I was working on NASA and found some data-leaking vulnerabilities, which they have now validated. They acknowledged my efforts and mentioned me in their ‘Hall of Fame’,” he said.
Muneeb said that he has been interested in cybersecurity since the 5th grade. He said he learned everything on his own through YouTube, Google, articles, and research.
“I learned it by myself, and I am continuously learning more as there is a lot to master in this field,” he said.
He said that he has found vulnerabilities in many websites and domains, which were secured from risks and data leaks. He reported these vulnerabilities ethically, and all have been validated and fixed.
About his studies he says, “I passed 12th grade and then went to SSM College to pursue Computer Sciences, but I dropped out in my second year. I switched to B.Sc through distance mode because I couldn’t manage both. I decided to follow my passion instead of the trend,” he said.
Muneeb said that he now plans to pursue a course in cybersecurity. He is determined to find a suitable degree in this field and make a career out of it.
“My aim is to pursue cybersecurity and get an opportunity to work in a big company as a cybersecurity analyst or researcher. I want to ensure that companies’ websites and domains remain secure and free of vulnerabilities,” he said.
Muneeb is determined to offer his expertise to companies, whether in India or abroad, to help secure them. He believes that many companies in Kashmir lack a responsible disclosure program.
Regarding family support, Muneeb says he initially did not receive much encouragement from his family. “When you start anything, you might face hindrances because the family is worried about your future and wants to see you excel and get a good job,” he said.
Muneeb explained that he faced this challenge at the beginning, but now his family believes in what he is doing and supports him. With their support, he has been able to achieve his current successes.
“Hackers do things either for their entertainment or to harm organizations by hacking users’ data. Data breaches are common these days in cybersecurity. In this digital era, cybersecurity attacks are rampant. There is a cyber war happening now instead of atomic bomb wars,” he said.
He added that if a strong country has grudges against another, they might launch a cyber attack. By leaking or hacking confidential data, they can gain significant advantages and potentially conduct more advanced attacks in the future.
“In the coming five years, cybersecurity, machine learning, AI, and blockchain development will have a lot of scope. I believe schools should start teaching computer programming and raising awareness about cybersecurity. Colleges should offer courses on cybersecurity because knowing how to secure data from cyber attacks is crucial now and will be even more so in the future,” he added.
Muneeb revealed that in Kashmir, more cybersecurity attacks are happening because people lack knowledge about it, making them easy victims.
