Codebreakers Chronicles: Ethical Hacking Journey with Aakash Sharma

Hi, I’m Aakash Sharma, and if you’re reading this, chances are you’re curious about hacking, bug bounties, or just figuring out how people like me end up in this field. Honestly, I didn’t grow up dreaming of becoming a hacker. It just happened because of one thing—curiosity.

I’ve always been the kind of person who wants to know “what’s happening behind the screen?” I couldn’t stop myself from digging deeper—why does this website behave this way? What happens if I change this request? Is there a loophole? That curiosity slowly turned into my biggest passion: ethical hacking.

The start wasn’t easy. In fact, it was super frustrating. I remember running scans for hours, trying payloads, reading blogs, but at the end of the day—nothing worked. My first few bug reports? Rejected. My first attempts at hacking? Failed badly. At times, I honestly thought, “Maybe this isn’t for me.” But something inside kept pushing me to try again.

Then came the first breakthrough—my first valid report. The company accepted it, fixed it, and even appreciated my effort. I still remember the feeling. It wasn’t about the bounty or recognition, it was that sense of “Wow, I actually made something safer.” That moment hooked me forever.

Since then, I’ve had the chance to work on different programs and find all sorts of bugs—info leaks, broken authentication, even a critical PII leak via an insecure API that could have exposed thousands of users. That one especially made me proud, not because of the reward, but because I could actually prevent a huge privacy risk.

What keeps me going? Honestly, it’s the thrill. Every new target is like a puzzle. Some days you win, some days you don’t. But every day you learn. That’s what I love about cybersecurity—it never gets boring.

Right now, I’m also preparing for the OSCP certification, while practicing on labs and Hack The Box to sharpen my skills. My goal isn’t just to keep growing myself, but also to inspire others who are just starting out.

If you’re new to bug bounty or pentesting, here’s my advice: don’t quit when it feels impossible. I’ve been there. Every rejection, every failure—it’s just part of the process. One day, you’ll land that first bug, and it’ll change everything.

For me, ethical hacking isn’t just about finding vulnerabilities. It’s about protecting people, building trust, and giving back to the community. And if my story can motivate even one person to keep pushing forward, then I think I’ve done something right.

At the end of the day, I’m just a curious guy who decided not to stop asking questions. That curiosity took me from being a beginner with zero knowledge to being featured here. And trust me—if I can do it, so can you.