The article, Hacking for Good: Leveraging HackerOne Data to Develop an Economic Model of Bug Bounties, provides significant insights into bug bounty policies from both economic and social perspectives. Economically, the authors identified that security researchers exhibit low price elasticity (0.1 to 0.2), meaning they’re primarily motivated by factors beyond monetary rewards, such as reputation or altruism. This makes bug bounty programs cost-effective even for smaller companies with limited resources. Surprisingly, the study also found company size and brand reputation have minimal impact on the number of reported vulnerabilities, suggesting these programs democratize cybersecurity access.

From a social science standpoint, industry-specific dynamics influence vulnerability disclosure rates. The finance, retail, and healthcare sectors received fewer vulnerability reports, possibly due to the ease with which hackers could monetize these vulnerabilities illegally, aligning with risk perception theories. Additionally, the authors suggest a reduction in vulnerability reports over time as companies mature, potentially reflecting declining hacker engagement or diminishing vulnerabilities. This study underscores bug bounties’ broader implications, highlighting how combining economic incentives with social science considerations significantly enhances cybersecurity strategies.