Johnny Long
More info
- Known for
- Google hacking, the Google Hacking Database
- Founded
- Hackers for Charity
- Country
- USA
The pen tester who showed that an ordinary search engine is one of the best reconnaissance tools around — provided you ask it the right questions.
In the early 2000s Long collected queries like intitle:"index of" passwd or filetype:sql that coaxed Google into handing over password files, database dumps and unsecured admin pages. The collection became the Google Hacking Database and the book Google Hacking for Penetration Testers (2004). The queries are still called "dorks", and the database has been maintained by Exploit-DB since 2010.
No Tech Hacking (2008) covered the opposite end: shoulder surfing, dumpster diving and social engineering. That year Long also started Hackers for Charity, which among other things let security people volunteer in exchange for food and lodging, and moved to Uganda himself to build computer labs.