Revolut to recruit hackers to secure its own IT infrastructure from potential data breaches and cyber-attacks

New recruits will scour the dark web for potential threats and test the company's own cyber defences

Fintech start-up Revolut is looking to set up a new hacking unit that will scour the dark web for potential threats and will attempt to conduct hacks against its own infrastructure to test its own cyber defences.

Revolut said it is hiring at least five IT security specialists whose main responsibility will be to monitor the company's IT security operations.

They will also be expected to surf the so-called dark web and attempt hacks against firm's own IT systems. The knowledge gained in the exercises will be used to better secure Revolut's networks from potential data breaches and real cyber-attacks.

The recruitment process is expected to be completed in the next two to three months.

"One of the responsibilities of this team is to come in and just hack all of our own systems for us," Paul Heffernan, Revolut's chief information security officer, told the Press Association.

"They will actually be continually testing our security and hacking into our own systems for us and using that knowledge to keep us secure."

The dark web is that part of the internet that is not indexed by search engines and therefore not easily accessible. It typically requires specific software, configurations, or authorisation to access.

According to Heffernan, most of the IT experts hired will handle the company's security operations function. Some will monitor the threat analysis area and will surf the dark web to identify issues.

Revolut is based in London and was founded by Vlad Yatsenko and Nikolay Storonsky. The start-up bank offers services including a pre-paid debit card, peer-to-peer payments and cryptocurrency exchange.

The company's mobile app supports ATM withdrawals in 120 currencies. According to its founders, the aim of founding Revolut was to provide public "a fair and frictionless platform to use and manage money around the world" without any hidden fees.

Revolut currently has a workforce of around 700, and claims to have more than three million users.

In September 2018, the bank recruited Heffernan as its chief information security officer, with responsibility to supervise Revolut's cyber function and to build a dedicated team.

This year, Revolut may plans to launch its services in other markets including the US, Japan and Canada.

The company was valued at £1.3 billion ($1.7 billion) in April last year.