Bug Bounty - Security Issues

Many companies use bug bounties to fight software bugs that could lead to financial loss. The practice is also used to encourage programmers to find and report security flaws before the hackers do.

What is a bug bounty?

A bug bounty is when a company or individual provides financial incentives for people to discover and report security weaknesses in the system. The person or team that finds the most security bugs wins the bounty, which usually ranges from $500 to $10,000 or more, depending on the size of the company or organization.

The bugs must exist in the software or equipment of the organization and must not be known to the public before the program starts. Ideally, the bugs should exist in widely-used software or hardware such as operating systems, web browsers, and smartphones.

Many companies see benefits in bug bounties, including increased security, improved privacy, and more reliable products. These benefits come from the fact that the bugs are being vetted by experts who are compensated for their time.

The more people who know about a bug, the more difficult it is to fix. Finding and fixing a security flaw is especially hard if it's not disclosed publicly and many people are experiencing the issue. With a bug bounty, the experts can help by publicly disclosing the flaw so that it can be fixed.

Another great thing about bug bounties is that the reward is often higher than what the average programmer would earn in a week. For example, the Microsoft Security Research Lab offers an annual salary of up to $150,000 and a cash prize of up to $25,000 for security bugs.

The benefits of this program are that it provides ongoing security coverage and it encourages people to search for security issues in widely-used software. It also offers extensive privacy protections because all the information is held inside the company.

If you're interested in starting a bug bounty program, there are several things you should do, including the following:

• Research the market before you get started – What is the price of software bugs and hardware flaws? How many people are experiencing this problem? What are the existing solutions?
• Research the competition – Who are your competitors in the market? How many hackers are out there looking to steal your customers?
• Determine the type of person you will attract – What skills do you have in-house that could be applied to this? Who are your preferred customers (users, developers, etc.)?
• Pick your poison – What type of security holes are you experiencing most often?
• Set your goals – What do you hope to achieve by starting a bug bounty program?

The more you know about the market, the more you can anticipate future expenses and the better you can structure your budget. Once you've determined the answers to these questions, you will know exactly where to focus your efforts to achieve the best results.

As a company owner, manager, or engineer, you have many options for raising funds for a bug bounty program. You could try crowdfunding through a website like Kickstarter or Google Funding. You could also sell stock or perform an IPO to raise money for your bug bounty program. Finally, you could ask friends, family members, and other syndicate partners for financial support.

If you have the funds raised, you can begin paying your expert hackers.

Just like any other fundraising effort, you will need to determine how much money to offer as a reward for a particular bug. You should set this amount based on the current price of software bugs in your area. For example, in the United States, it is very hard to find bounties for Windows vulnerabilities because Microsoft does not offer a cash reward. Instead, the company offers a certificate of achievement which is sometimes valued at $50. This means that the maximum amount a professional could earn for in finding and fixing a Windows vulnerability would be $50. In most situations, the amount is lower than what it could be due to this limitation.

Every organization will have different needs and priorities, which means that the flowchart you create for your bug bounty program will be unique to you. Nonetheless, there are some tried and tested methods for structuring a bug bounty program that you can apply. This includes the following:

• Set the program duration – How long do you want to offer the bug bounty program?
• Set the minimum qualifications – What minimum qualifications do you require from your bug bounty hunters?
• Set the maximum number of issues that can be reported – How many issues can be reported in the program?
• Determine the types of issues that can be addressed – What type of issues can be addressed by your bug bounty program?
• Determine the types of issues that can't be addressed – What type of issues cannot be addressed by your bug bounty program?
• Set the rules and regulations – What are the rules and regulations for your bug bounty program?
• Determine who will be approving new reports – Who will be handling the administrative tasks related to the bug bounty program?
• Establish a bounty program wiki page – Include a brief description of the bug bounty program, the types of issues it is aimed at, the reward – What is the expected return on investment?

One of the primary goals of a bug bounty program is to find and fix bugs before customers actually experience the issues, decreasing the amount of surveys and quality control (QC) measures that have to be done afterwards. This makes products more reliable, which in turn, drives up customer confidence and sales.

Security issues are often perceived as being part of the product development cycle, and thus are included as part of the bounty offer. However, other types of issues, like the ones related to product functionality, can also be added to a bug bounty program.

As mentioned above, a bug bounty program usually rewards the individual or team that finds the most vulnerabilities, while a ransomware program usually rewards the individual that presents the most financial harm, usually in the form of a bitcoin ransom.

However, there are a few distinctions that you should note about these two types of programs. First, a bug bounty program does not require the target to be a part of the industry. This means that anyone can start a bug bounty program and even if they are not a professional computer scientist, they can still participate. In contrast, ransomware typically only accepts reports from professionals who are familiar with the target's systems.