I found a critical SSRF flaw in a Fortune 500 company — $10,000 payout — using a recon method most hackers ignore.

But here’s the truth: 90% of hackers fail at recon. They jump straight into scanning, missing hidden subdomains, forgotten APIs, and leaked credentials that could’ve been easy bugs.

Most hackers skip these 3 recon phases — here’s why they’re wrong.

Who Am I? (Why Should You Listen?)

I’m not a “guru.” Just a hacker who:

• Ranked Top 50 on HackerOne (200+ Hall of Fame entries).
• Built ARWAD (an open-source automated recon tool).
• Found 100+ bugs in companies like Google, Uber, and Shopify.

Tools won’t save you if your recon mindset is broken.

Recon Mindset > Tools

The best hackers spend 70% of their time on recon.

Passive Recon (Silent, no direct interaction):

• Shodan (Find exposed databases).
• Wayback Machine (Discover deleted pages with vulnerabilities).
• GitHub Leaks (Search for exposed API keys).