Hello, dearest hackers, pentesters, and red teamers alike. My name is Erica, Director of Content Marketing at Bugcrowd. I’m the mastermind behind some of Bugcrowd’s biggest hits, like Inside the Mind of a Hacker and the Ultimate Guide series.
I write about cybersecurity all day, but here’s one thing you might not know about me: I am an absolutely unhinged astrology girlie-pop. That’s right—while listening to industry-leaders break down technical concepts, I’m secretly wondering if they’re ruled by Mercury. When I pitch a launch date for Bugcrowd’s newest video series, I’m pitching a date I’ve come up with based on data, analytics, and the timing of the next new moon.
“A-hem, a-hem” (picture me walking up to a university podium and clearing my throat). Astrology is the study of the relationship between the movements of planets in space and events on Earth. The origins of Western astrology trace back 4,000 years to recordings made in ancient Mesopotamia, the present-day country of Iraq.
Okay, okay, I can already hear you thinking, “Erica, I think astrology is absolute crap. How did you even get permission to post this blog on a company site?” I have two things to say to that:
Some people base their entire spiritual dogma on astrology, while others don’t believe in it at all (#science). A bunch in the middle view astrology in the same way we used to engage with Buzzfeed quizzes (“Answer these eight questions and we’ll sort your pet hamster into a Hogwarts house”). Wherever your beliefs fall on the spectrum, today’s horoscope is clear:
You will read a mildly funny, very unserious Bugcrowd blog post and find it entertaining.
Before we get started, don’t forget to look beyond your traditional zodiac sign (aka your sun sign). Many people relate more to their moon sign or their rising/ascendant sign than their sun sign. I recommend checking out all three in the list below.
If you don’t know what your sun, moon, or rising signs are, you can pull up your birth chart online by inputting your birthdate, location of birth, and birthtime. Did that sound a little bit like a phishing attempt? Maybe. If your chosen birth chart generator also asks for your mother’s maiden name and the name of your first pet, get the hell outta there.
Folks…the time has arrived. Saturn is about to move into Aries, and we survived last week’s Scorpio full moon. Let’s do this.
Your unquenchable warrior spirit would make you an excellent red teamer. A good red teamer needs a hustle mentality that fuels them to do whatever it takes to help a customer, including learning an entirely new attack surface. As an Aries, you embody this spirit perfectly, using your persistence as a fire to drive you forward. Sure, does that persistence sometimes mean you struggle to know when to walk away? Yes. But if someone gives you a Red Bull and a challenge, there is no stopping you.
Your favorite bugs are probably sensitive data exposure vulnerabilities—they take a lot of digging to find the leak, but your efforts lead to big rewards. Drop a fresh target with a potential $25K P1, and you’re all over it! Nobody puts in the work quite like a Taurus.
You also thrive at Bug Bashes and industry conferences like DEF CON, where you can team up with others, sharing and learning techniques from the community. Lastly, because every Gemini is known to have many faces, you’re completely lost when hacking unless you have multiple screens to work off of.
Your favorite bugs are probably cross-site scripting vulnerabilities. These are often used to steal a user’s identity—which is so emotionally intimate (aka perfect for a Cancer).
You seek recognition and acknowledgement in the public arena, such as Hall of Fame listings, speaking opportunities at security conferences, and opportunities to build your professional credentials. You also LOVE a Bug Bash event, where you really can be the star you were born to be. Just like how you can’t pass a mirror without looking at yourself, you’ll never pass up the opportunity to post about your ranking on the Bugcrowd leaderboard.
Your inherent charm makes you excellent at social engineering and phishing. You like to be appreciated, so when a program manager goes the extra mile to thank you for your submission, it really makes an impression on you.
You analyze everything and never miss the small details, which makes you an excellent hacker. Sometimes, you can be a workaholic, but the pursuit of perfecting your craft with a diversity of skills makes all the hard work worth it. You love CAP bypasses or MFA bypassing because these require precision and a type A kind of attention to detail. These are already designed to deter attackers, so if you can find a way around them, you’ve got some serious stealth.
You’re likely motivated to hack for the greater good—you want to make the internet a safer place. Whether it’s protecting user data, helping organizations secure their assets, or giving back to the community, you’re truly driven to help organizations defend against adversaries. You seek justice, and instances of injustice really bother you. You love LOTL attacks because hijacking legitimate tools to escalate privileges with no injection feels very “steal from the rich, give to the poor” to you.
You may hold a grudge—if a program owner takes a long time to respond to you, you’ll never forgive them. At the same time, you’re deeply invested in what you do. You channel your intensity into strategic hunting moves that make you an admirable force of nature.
Sagittariuses are a little on the silly, goofy side. Your favorite bugs are probably SSRFs because they initially look like silly little vulnerabilities, but if well-exploited, they can grant full access to a company’s sensitive assets.
You’re not one to mindlessly hack—you go in with a plan and use your ambition as fuel. When choosing a target, you look for a large enough scope to pivot, understandable application logic, programs that match your skill set, and applications you actually care about. This structure provides the ultimate practical framework for you to thrive.
As someone who is passionate about social change and equality, you’re also motivated by the greater good. Giving back and driving systematic change in cybersecurity are important to you. You probably love mobile jailbreaking—there is a thrill in bypassing the manufacturer-imposed limitations on devices by breaking out of the “sandbox.”
Pisces are the dreamers of the zodiac. You’re constantly on a quest, searching for new information and opportunities everywhere you go. You hack because you love to tinker, break things, and solve puzzles. You don’t do well with limitations, so wide scopes attract you to programs. You’re likely a recon hacker who focuses on identifying issues across the largest possible scope, using automated tools and techniques to map and analyze broad attack surfaces.
I bet you are an OSINT king or queen—you can pick apart the tiniest of details and turn them into a bunch of side quests. Your attention span is your biggest enemy—you get overwhelmed easily and move on to the next project quickly.
So how did I do? Reach out and let me know if I predicted your hacking style correctly! Unless you are a Leo, in which case, I beg you to leave me in peace.
No matter your zodiac sign or hacking style, you belong on the Bugcrowd Platform! Sign up today and start hacking with Bugcrowd—it’s your cosmic destiny. 🪐