Tell us a bit about yourself!
Alyssa Herrera: I’m a fulltime bug bounty hunter and security researcher based in California, United States. In my free time, I tend to play games and talk with friends usually.
How did you first get interested in computers and hacking?
Alyssa Herrera: I got interested in computers when I was in middle school. My school provided us with computers, but like most middle schoolers, I wanted to play games on the admin computer systems. I got my first start with hacking when I was trying to get administrative access to a school given laptop, to play games.
At what age did you start hacking?
Alyssa Herrera: I started hacking web applications around 16 years old when I heard about Google’s bug bounty program. This lead me down a rabbit hole of googling about bug bounties and web application vulnerabilities through OWASP. I eventually found Hackerone and that’s sort of how it all started.
Did you have a mentor who encouraged your interest?
Alyssa Herrera: I don’t have a mentor, I more so just taught myself through blog posts and disclosed reports. It was really interesting to me and I fell in love with the work. It’s extremely rewarding to help secure companies from potential vulnerabilities.
What motivates you to do this type of work?
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