Bug Bounty Programs: What They Are and How to Start Tackling Them Yourself

Those in the white hat hacker community and software developer enthusiasts have many ways to spend their time. They can craft new programs and enhance cybersecurity. They can also find bugs and earn money while they are at it. Big Tech companies crave this initiative from freelance experts because they have countless opportunities to improve their products. This is why they offer bug bounty programs, which are crowdsourced solutions for fixing online and cloud services.

What Are Bug Bounty Programs?

Companies spend tons of time creating websites, programs, code and other digital infrastructure. It is rarely ever perfect, which is why people test it for flaws. Bugs appear often. With updates and continued use, people unveil more of them. This is why organizations incentivize people to hunt security vulnerabilities and gaps in their products for a reward. 

This is the basis of a bug bounty program — people become bounty hunters for software development issues to earn money.

The biggest businesses, including Netflix and Microsoft, offer compensation for finding these errors. Stakeholders are incentivized to do this because it crowdsources improvements to online platforms. It also expands the scope and time invested in discovering critical problems and security vulnerabilities that would hinder user experiences — if freelancers are finding them faster than already-busy staff, then it is a win-win for everyone.

Many programs use platforms, such as HackerOne and Bugcrowd, to facilitate these investigations. Once someone finds a bug, they can report it and receive a payout based on the value of the assistance they provided. Sometimes, these programs do not issue money as a reward, in which a vulnerability disclosure program is required for transparency. 

Does this mean anyone can be a bug bounty hunter?

How to Use Bug Bounty Programs for Beginners

To be an efficient bug bounty hunter, you need a few prerequisites. You should have some engineering, coding or development experience to understand the foundations. You should know the basics of HTML and JavaScript or other languages. 

Most bug bounty program beginners start by educating themselves by reading or taking online classes.

Most recommend the OWASP Top 10 vulnerabilities, which reveal the best places to start looking for bugs. Knowing the most common issues can increase your chances of finding something. Then, you can apply legal exploits and hacks to uncover them.

Here are a few other resources bug bounty pros recommend:

• Web Security Academy free online training
• TryHackMe training
• Portswigger Academy
• Web Application Hackers Handbook
• Insider PhD on YouTube
• Real-World Bug Hunting by Peter Yaworski

Ultimately, bug hunting for beginners also involves communicating with other hunters. The community is robust, primarily in places like Reddit and GitHub. Finding reliable and friendly people involved will help your journey because you can find mentors and tips on where to go for the best results.

You may also want to consider installing a more flexible operating system that is better suited for these tasks.

FAQs About Bug Bounty Programs

Here are several other prominent questions people have about these programs.

What Is the Best Bug Bounty Program?

You may have different definitions of what constitutes “best.” Some hunters think it is best when the company has many bugs to discover, increasing their chances of success. Others judge the program based on the payout amounts. If judging by the latter criteria, then Google’s Vulnerability Reward Program is the best. This involves all its domains, including YouTube. Those in the white hat hacker community could earn over $100,000 for finding big bugs, while some may not even qualify for a reward. Facebook is also a top contender.

Will Facebook Pay $500 if You Find a Bug in Their Code?

Yes. Facebook’s Bug Bounty Program seeks the brightest minds to find issues like spam, social engineering and other cybersecurity risks that could lead to the exploitation of users or damage Facebook’s reputation. The minimum for a qualified bounty is $500, and, to date, Meta has issued over $23 million in bounties across its properties. Discovering mobile remote code execution problems could have payouts of up to $300,000.

How Much Does a Bug Bounty Provide?

Most bug bounty hunters are freelancers, though there are some salaried positions available. The amount you could earn as a freelancer is entirely based on skill and dedication. The more time you spend on finding bugs and security vulnerabilities, and the more you increase your expertise, the more you’ll net a greater chance of higher payouts. 

Salaried positions vary widely. According to Glassdoor, pay ranges from $88,000 to $159,000 annually. ZipRecruiter suggests the national average is much lower, hovering around $43,000 per year, with discrepancies based on state.

Is Tesla Still Part of Bugcrowd?

Bugcrowd is a third-party bug bounty service, and Tesla’s program is organized through it. The company does a few other administrative tasks for Tesla, but they also establish payment limitations. You must be a resident of the U.S., be a certain age or get permission from guardians, and work for Tesla to be completely eligible. 

Can You Live Off Bug Bounties?

You can definitely make a living from doing employed or freelance bug bounty hunting. You could even do a combination of both if you feel super motivated. This could be a high-earning profession, and the barrier to entry is relatively low if you can access the internet. 

Even people who are curious about the field can learn to code and find bugs through the internet’s copious free online resources. You don’t have to get a degree to participate — all you need is curiosity and initiative. So long as you leverage the countless educational assets the community has and read the terms and conditions from every program, you’re all set.

Squashing Bugs for Better Technology

Bug bounty programs are a helpful way for companies to solve more problems at a faster pace. It provides better experiences for users, as cybersecurity and performance increase. It also gives tech-driven minds an additional source of income. If you have a self-driven and productive mindset, bug bounty hunting can turn you into one of the internet’s most valuable sleuths. Why not get paid for solving these puzzles while you’re at it?