Mayonaise:
From Hacker to Hero

Hack Like an Executive - The Taiwan E-commerce Breakthrough

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Objective:
Identifying a company's overlooked vulnerabilities in their restricted Taiwan-based e-commerce systems. My goal was to test a theory: B2B systems often receive less rigorous security scrutiny than consumer-facing ones, making them prime targets for exploitation.

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Challenges Faced:

• Access Restrictions: Registration required a Taiwan ID, local phone number, and address, presenting a significant hurdle in obtaining legitimate access.

• Localized Context: The language and country-specific regulations complicate my usual penetration strategies.

• Maintaining Legitimacy: Navigating the gray area of legality while ensuring all actions taken were ethical and professional, particularly when involving a new country.​

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Strategic Approach:

• Partner Recruitment: I leveraged freelance platforms like Upwork to find an English-speaking partner in Taiwan with experience in e-commerce. The idea was to build local credibility, turning a geographical barrier into an asset.

• Company Formation: I collaborated with my new partner to form a small, locally registered company to facilitate legitimate access. This provided the legal means to register for and access these restricted systems.

• Executive Mindset: By thinking outside the technical box and treating the problem like a business opportunity, I gained access that traditional hacking approaches might not have allowed.

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Outcome & Impact:

• Critical Vulnerabilities Uncovered: As anticipated, the B2B systems were poorly protected. I identified multiple critical vulnerabilities that would have led to potential exposure of sensitive data and system breaches. These weaknesses were reported, preventing what could have been severe data exploitation risks.

• Breaking Barriers Creatively: This project demonstrated that sometimes the solution isn't about coding skills alone—it's about combining strategic business moves with technical know-how to break barriers.

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Key Lessons Learned:

• Creativity in Problem-Solving: Sometimes, the path to exploiting a vulnerability isn’t through code but through creative thinking and leveraging unconventional resources.

• Local Expertise Matters: Having someone familiar with local context—language, systems, and even culture—can open doors otherwise closed, turning perceived weaknesses into tactical strengths.

• Business-like Approach: By approaching the problem like a business challenge instead of just a hacking task, I achieved a different level of access that led to success.

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Technologies Used:

• Collaboration Tools: Upwork and similar platforms to find the right local partner.

• Recon Tools: Standard web reconnaissance and application penetration testing tools were used to identify and validate the security weaknesses.

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Metrics of Success:

• Bounties Earned: Over 20 successful bounties were claimed due to vulnerabilities in the Taiwan-based e-commerce systems.

• Competition Performance: Catapulted to a 1st place finish in the opening round of H1-2010, a global hacking event with over 3,000 confirmed participants from 59 countries.

• Global Recognition: The findings and success in the competition significantly boosted my standing within the global ethical hacking community, demonstrating the value of strategic thinking and technical skills.