To understand the reasons for implementing this type of cybersecurity program, we would like to go back to 1983, where a reward was first offered for anyone who found or reported a bug in the Versatile Real operating system from Hunter & Ready.

Since then, cybersecurity has gained importance, especially for large multinationals such as Microsoft, Google or Facebook, as they have huge databases and are exposed to countless attacks by cybercriminals who want to steal this data for commercial or illegal use.

But it is not only necessary for large technology companies, today, any small or medium-sized company has a customer database or a website where it offers its products or services and these could be affected if someone with the necessary knowledge, performs a cyber-attack causing damages for an amount difficult to assume by a company that has a tight budget.

To prevent anyone from harming your company, you can use the Bug Bounty program to detect security flaws before they cause problems.

This type of rewards for cybersecurity errors has evolved as technology has been integrated into society, so it has become professionalized and there are already companies dedicated to providing this service.

When is the right time to implement a Bug Bounty program?

Given the multiple threats that may exist, you may have considered starting the program immediately. But to do so, you should make sure that you already have a security system in place to protect you.

Launch of the Bug bounty program

Nowadays, any company can access a Bug bounty program, but not all of them know that they must have a good security system in place before they can start the program.

To test your security system, there are already companies like Epic Bounties, which provide all the information to those companies that are interested in this service, through clear documentation and content.

In addition, support is available to help you through the entire programme process.

What can I expect from a Bug bounty programme?

In order to improve your cyber security system, you will need to have a clear and comprehensive conversation with the people involved in it. This includes:

• Finding a flaw in your security system, how quickly you would be quick to respond.
• Do hackers have permission to publish the vulnerabilities found?

Having a transparent and communicative approach helps to make the evaluation of the program as effective as possible.

Are there any drawbacks to Bug bounty reward programmes?

One of the main drawbacks that we can find when searching for bugs or any vulnerability, is that the vast majority of hackers are dedicated to finding bugs within websites, so there are very few who have adequate knowledge to work with operating systems, as hacking network hardware or memory requires highly qualified expertise.

If the aim of the programme is to find bugs within an operating system, the reward of the program should be higher.

To conclude

Bug bounty programs are valuable for companies that need to test their website or are looking for another perspective to improve their cybersecurity, as in-house programs often cannot.

On the other hand, most of the companies that tend to demand this type of services are usually highly visible websites and thanks to programs such as Bug bounty, they can solve cybersecurity problems.