Security organisation requests public to hack own website

With website hacking seemingly taking a permanent place in the news at the moment, one website has actually asked hackers to seek out any vulnerabilities – essentially asking thieves to steal from your home to see how well your alarm system works. The New Zealand Office of the Privacy Commissioner recently launched the 'vulnerability disclosure policy', which asks those capable of hacking, to report any online liabilities on the organisation’s website.

As for what the Office of the Privacy Commissioner actually does, their key areas are essentially examining complaints about any privacy breaches, speaking to the public about issues surrounding individual privacy, creating codes of practice for particular sectors and industries, and investigating how any new legislation may impact individual privacy. In short, they’re looking out for the public when it comes to online safety.

"A vulnerability disclosure policy demonstrates the commitment we have to security. The policy publicly commits our office to responding promptly when advised of any vulnerability," said John Edwards, Privacy Commissioner of the website. "This policy was developed because of incidents where members of the public - often information security experts - notice security weaknesses in information systems, software and websites. Organisations have sometimes responded in a hostile manner to reports of weaknesses in their online systems.

"It takes fear out of the equation. The idea is to assure anyone who notices a problem with our website that they can tell us about it without recrimination. If people can report online security problems, everyone benefits if those vulnerabilities are fixed as quickly as possible," he explained.

And it’s not just the Office of the Privacy Commissioner that’s on our side, many other companies are actively fighting the good fight towards a safer online experience. A website checker from 1&1 actually measures your website’s security for free and rates the overall performance, noting if your site requires an SSL Certificate or uses secure cookies, for example. What’s more, online security company Symantec, have actually released a free e-book of their 'Website Security For Dummies'. Look here for more info on obtaining your complimentary copy.