This happened during my semester exams — a time when stress and panic become your best friends. I was desperately trying to prepare for one of the subjects, praying to at least pass it (miracles do happen, right?). After a marathon study session of a whopping two hours straight — which felt like I had just finished a whole PhD — I decided to take a break.

Worthy Medium Notification

Like any disciplined student, I grabbed my phone to “relax.” While watching some videos on YouTube, I got a notification from Medium. It was a blog by

about Google Dorking and how he got into the Philips Hall of Fame. I read it and thought, “Why not give it a try?” Just for fun, I tried some dorks myself. Guess what? I somehow ended up in the same Philips Hall of Fame. 😂 I was just trying to take a break from studying and ended up getting recognised by a big company. Not bad for a lazy study break, right?

I went through many of the dorks mentioned in his article, but most didn’t work — probably because other bug hunters had already used them. Great minds think alike, I guess 😉

But then came the last dork on the list… and boom! It worked and led me to something interesting — the exact thing that got me into the Hall of Fame.

Here’s the dork I found that helped me uncover some top-secret stuff (shhh 🤫).

site:*.philips.* "PRIVATE AND CONFIDENTIAL" filetype:pdf

While using that dork, I came across a file that had confidential business info from Philips. Now, I could’ve done something wrong with that info, but that’s not who I am. Instead of misusing it, I did the right thing — I reported it responsibly.

Philips fixed the issue quickly, and as a thank-you, they added me to their Hall of Honours.
Not gonna lie, it felt awesome. From exam stress to ethical hacking glory — all in one study break. 😄

📢 Disclaimer: The knowledge shared here is strictly for educational purposes. The usage of these methods to perform malicious actions is a serious offence and punishable by law. 🚨

Conclusion

Sometimes, the most unexpected moments lead to the coolest achievements. All I wanted was a break from my boring textbooks, and instead, I found a real-world vulnerability and earned a spot in a company’s Hall of Fame.

This experience taught me that learning doesn’t always have to be from books — curiosity, timing, and ethical thinking can take you a long way. So, the next time you’re on a study break, who knows? You might just stumble into something big, too.

Stay secure, and keep learning! 💻🔒

Let’s connect on LinkedIn, because networking isn’t just for packets 😉🧑‍💻

https://www.linkedin.com/in/ganesh-balaji-v