Bug Bounty: The program that pays you to hack computer systems

Have you heard of the Bug Bounty program before? Today we are going to inform you and detail that this program, not very well known among standard Internet users or Internet users in general, is a way for large companies or Internet platforms to offer rewards for those who report a security hole or cybersecurity errors in general.

With the development of software, mobile applications, and web pages, companies are exposed to different types of cyber-attacks. However, ethical hackers, upon finding security flaws, will want to report them to the respective companies.
Such programs can be found on the platform called Bug Bounty, where the user who decides to participate in it knows the conditions and rules that must be followed to participate in that program. The best-known platforms of this network are HackerOne.com and BugCrowd.com.

Benefits of Bug Bounty Programs

After defining what Bug Bounty is, it is time to talk about the benefits it brings to the cybersecurity community. Both companies and computer scientists have gained from this strategy. Below, we mention a series of advantages that this system brings, both for you and companies:

Avoid malicious attacks

Realizing that they were inevitably going to be attacked, large companies discovered that they could give rewards to hackers for reporting these security errors. In this way, it would be more valuable for them to communicate the failures to the company than to leak or commit a crime with the information.

Gives opportunities for researchers

This defense strategy against attacks is also a good opportunity to earn money and experience, thanks to ethical hacking. Ethical or white hat hackers always seek to report the vulnerabilities they find.
However, when talking about cybersecurity, not all companies already have their policies and communication channels clearly defined. The Bug Bounty program also makes it easier for white hat hackers to communicate their findings to companies.

Open communication channels

According to the Hacker Report, a survey conducted by HackerOne, 50% of hackers have not reported bugs due to a lack of information on how and to whom to report the bug, which added to bad experiences in the past.

Taking into account that attacking a company without its authorization is against the law, each company must make its rules clear in this area.

Bug Bounty programs emerged as part of the response to this problem, as it is an open invitation made by some companies to attack them, with the condition of reporting on the findings obtained.

How much do Bug Bounty programs pay?

Now that you know what Bug Bounty is, you can take advantage of this opportunity to earn experience and money. However, can you make a living from reporting cybersecurity failures?
According to the Hacker Report, made by the aforementioned HackerOne, hackers from 170 countries reported profits of approximately USD 50 million in 2022.

Likewise, the 2021 report confirms that 38% of hackers have dedicated more time to hacking as a result of the pandemic. Of them, 34% have seen increased income, thanks to Bug Bounty programs. Likewise, 34% of hackers surveyed consider that there are currently more cybersecurity failures, as a result of technological development after the pandemic.

Therefore, Bug Bounty programs represent a good opportunity to earn money.

How to learn more?

You already know what Bug Bounty is. Now, to successfully participate in these programs, and earn money and experience, you will need to train properly and practice. The future is seeing that the area of computer security is a very lucrative specialty for those people who are well prepared and attracted to this world of computing.
Large multinationals in different fields of industry, services, or businesses in general, such as Google, Tesla, Space X, and Microsoft, among others, have agreed to apply this methodology knowing that this type of incentive is highly effective in detecting errors or security holes. , in which a hacker or a user with some hacking tools can break the security of the system, thereby putting at risk confidential information, and financial data, among many other departments and areas that can be affected by an infiltration into their systems. systems.

Social networks: Main platforms affected by the infiltration of accounts and chats

Certainly, social networks are until now the favorite focus for cyber-attacks and account infiltration, social networks such as Instagram, Twitter now X, Facebook, and Tik Tok, have been affected for many years by this problem, although Facebook is the main one with the highest number of searches on the internet.
In the different search engines, the term “hack Facebook” is the most searched key phrase with millions of users every day, therefore, this social network is constantly updating its systems to avoid the attacks to which they are subject.