Cybersecurity is an ever-evolving field, and one of the best ways to learn how to defend against hackers is to think like one. That’s exactly what TryHackMe helps you do by immersing you in hands-on hacking challenges.
In one of my recent exercises, I jumped straight into a virtual machine designed to simulate a real-world security scenario—hacking a fake banking application. My goal? To uncover vulnerabilities that could allow unauthorized access to sensitive financial transactions.
Finding Hidden Directories with Gobuster
To get started, I used Gobuster, a powerful command-line tool that scans websites for hidden directories and pages. By running Gobuster against the fake bank’s website, I was able to uncover a concealed directory—one that appeared to be used by bank employees for transferring money between accounts.
Unauthorized Access to Fund Transfers
After navigating to this hidden page, I quickly realized that it lacked proper security measures, granting me unauthorized access. With no restrictions in place, I was able to manipulate the system and initiate fund transfers between different accounts—something that, in a real-world scenario, would be a serious vulnerability.
The Role of Ethical Hackers
If I were an ethical hacker, my job would be to identify and report security flaws like this one to the organization. Ethical hackers work to help businesses patch vulnerabilities before malicious hackers can exploit them. In this case, the bank would need to implement proper authentication and security protocols to prevent unauthorized access.
Final Thoughts
This TryHackMe challenge provided an eye-opening look into web application security and the risks that poorly secured systems face. It reinforced the importance of ethical hacking in cybersecurity—finding and fixing flaws before they can be exploited.
If you’re interested in learning cybersecurity hands-on, TryHackMe is a great place to start.
