Through our current technological world, there are hackers who exploit the vulnerabilities in a
company’s code to have monetary gain. In the other corner, there are individuals who get paid
for identifying these vulnerabilities for a company legally. This is called the Bug Bounty Policy. It
is a program that is presented as a solution to the many cybersecurity challenges that occur by
the day. Through ethical hacking, a company does not have to solely rely on their own internal
security and audits to identify any weaknesses in the security. They would offer a monetary
incentive for ethical hackers to do security testing of their system. It is a great idea and offers a
great economic gain not just for the hacker, but for the company as well. They do not have to do
primarily their own security testing, but can outsource to the growing hacker community and pay
for any vulnerabilities that they discover. The economic model shifts from one where you are
hiring a security team to only paying per vulnerability found. This solution helps the company
gain better cost efficiency. Through the social science perspective, the bug bounty programs
can also represent a good case for moral entrepreneurship. This is done through how their
potentially harmful hacking is turned into being socially beneficial for the organization and
cyberworld. The bug bounty program also reflects upon the changing social norms around
vulnerabilities. There used to be such a conflicting relationship between hackers and
organizations. Now, the bug bounties are able to create a more collaborative relationship
between the two that benefits both parties as a result. Through evaluating the concept, I also
noticed that the bug bounty programs tend to be the most effective when there is competitive
compensation offered that reflects the value of the vulnerabilities discovered, clear scope and
rules being provided, responsive communication with the researchers, and long term
relationships being created instead of one-offs. With these benefits, there can still be challenges
in standardizing these programs and making sure that they are complementary to traditional
security measures rather than fully replacing them. The economic incentives must also be
calibrated effectively in order to attract the most skilled people while also being cost-effective.
Bug bounty policies can also be a prime example of how market mechanics can be able to
address security challenges, but they can also raise questions on how cybersecurity is being
commodified. While it is economically efficient in scope, these programs can end up creating a
dependency on external hackers instead of having stronger security within. Overall, bug bounty
programs represent a great fusion of economic and social standards within cybersecurity. It
demonstrates how a policy framework can be able to use the market to address many security
challenges and still create a better community around ethical hacking. In having these programs
be successful, it shows that cybersecurity policies require an interdisciplinary approach to
change with the always changing world.