How Charles Awuzie Became an ethical Hacker…
(a bio submitted to a commonwealth organization)
To have access to a computer as a teenager, I used to walk 4 hours, from my village to Ohanku Road by Ngwa Road, Aba, a distance of over 65 kilometers… I would tell my father that I was going for a prayer service (that was the only way to get money N100 from him) and he would give me N100 for transportation which I would save to pay for 2 hours access to a computer at a public cybercafe. When my 2 hours expires, I would volunteer to work for the owner of the cyber Cafe in exchange for free internet surfing at any free computer.
It was during this time that I learnt how to by pass the cyberCafe billing system…
When the owner of the cybercafe realized that I had figured out how to bypass the billing system and I could browse the internet for free, he did something amazing…. He employed me and made me manager of his cybercafe. He was a deportee from America and had me share his apartment if I worked into the night or during “All night browsing”. He introduced me to computer programming and I started building websites for churches and organizations.
Later on, I got admitted to study Biochemistry at Abia State university.. As a student, I walked pass the Admin block to the faculty of science (Science Block) every day… The Admin building housed a server room… Each time I walked pass that server room, I desired to work inside it…. So one day, I met the guy who used to provide technical support for the server room.
And I explained to him how vulnerable the university’s IT infrastructures were and how easily a criminal Hacker can break in, upgrade results or edit student information. The guy was shocked at how much I knew and he asked me to work secretly with him in order to protect the systems. I believe he was called Ino or something like that. A tall fair guy who lived around Umuzegem, Okigwe.
It was from then that I realized that I can earn an honest living from helping to protect computer systems, networks or applications.
I lost interest in my course of study, Biochemistry and started studying cybersecurity online.
Today, multiple government agencies, international organizations, financial institutions, corporate etc pay me to provide cybersecurity training and services to their organizations.
My business employs the smartest ethical hackers who work from across the world to provide ethical hacking services to our clients across Africa.
If you are a business owner and afraid that your network or systems are compromised, you are free to reach out.
Looking back, it all began with a boy walking 4 hours from his village to have access to the internet. Today, I am one of the few African Technologists on several Respected boards and councils including the Forbes Business Council.
If you stick to your passion, you will build an empire.
Maranatha.