Mouael Ahmed Shakir is now considered one of the most important icons of cybersecurity in Iraq and perhaps one of the most prominent names in discovering errors and security vulnerabilities in major global websites such as Facebook, Instagram, Telegram, and even the NASA website, and the U.S. Department of Defense's Pentagon site.
The story of programmer Shakir (24 years old) who resides in Wasit Governorate, began his professional journey in the cybersecurity field at the age of 16. He says, "I was losing in a Minecraft game on PlayStation, so I thought about hacking the game by making modifications to make winning easier."
Shakir adds to Shafaq News, "So I started learning programming in simple matters, and then I expanded in this field after my university studies (Computer Engineering) to know the details of hacking operations and closing vulnerabilities."
Recently, NASA added Shakir's name to its honor roll after he reported three security vulnerabilities, one of which allowed an attacker to access the site's database.
This is not the first time Shakir has discovered vulnerabilities in global websites. He has received multiple letters of thanks from major global organizations and companies, and his name is included in honor and recognition lists from Facebook, where he discovered seven vulnerabilities on the global site.
Among these vulnerabilities, he succeeded in discovering a "flaw" related to Facebook pages that allows an attacker to know the identities of the page administrators and another "flaw" that enables an attacker or hacker to bypass the security test without knowing the required login information for the victim's account.
Additionally, there is a "flaw" in Instagram that allows the attacker to change the bio of any account on the site and save the information after changing it.
In this context, Shakir states, "Initially, I found vulnerabilities in small, lesser-known sites and then began to find vulnerabilities in global sites like Meta, for which I received monetary rewards, one of which reached $8,000."
He adds, "I also receive invitations from companies to find vulnerabilities in their websites and fix them, and I receive offers from global companies outside Iraq, but I do not wish to leave, as I see that my country needs such specializations."
He emphasizes that "Iraq has many programming specialists who are trying to share technical knowledge, such as the Digital Media Center (DMC)."
Currently, Shakir works as the cybersecurity manager at the Digital Media Center, which is an NGO specialized in monitoring, following, and analyzing the latest news from social media and the world of technology.
