This journal article uses data from HackerOne, a well-known site that links ethical hackers with companies looking to find and fix security flaws, to examine the world of bug bounties through the prism of economic modeling. The purpose of the study is to shed light on the financial dynamics of bug bounty programs and how they affect cybersecurity.

First, a dataset from HackerOne is analyzed, with an emphasis on the several bug bounty programs that are available on the platform. The writers explore these programs’ features, such as their design, reach, and methods of payment. They then use economic modeling approaches to investigate the benefits that firms that run bug bounty programs receive in exchange for encouraging ethical hackers to join them.