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Cyber ResilienceA bug bounty program is a helpful solution for organizations, especially those in more targeted industries like the financial and energy industries. It is a great avenue to invite capable hands across the cybersecurity industry to contribute to making your applications and software system more secure and reliable. However, bug bounties should not be the first course of action in tackling vulnerabilities.
However, bug bounties should not be the first course of action in tackling vulnerabilities. It can be expensive, ineffective, or both, without certain key elements in place.
If done at the wrong time, bug bounty could be a financial sinkhole with little to no return for an organization; therefore, you should implement some of the factors below before thinking of launching a bug bounty program.
A bug bounty program is a helpful solution for organizations, especially those in more targeted industries like the financial and energy industries. It is a great avenue to invite capable hands across the cybersecurity industry to contribute to making your applications and software system more secure and reliable. However, bug bounties should not be the first course of action in tackling vulnerabilities.
However, bug bounties should not be the first course of action in tackling vulnerabilities. It can be expensive, ineffective, or both, without certain key elements in place.
If done at the wrong time, bug bounty could be a financial sinkhole with little to no return for an organization; therefore, you should implement some of the factors below before thinking of launching a bug bounty program.
Considerations Before Thinking of a Bug Bounty Program
Educate Developers on Secure Coding
Most vulnerabilities in a system step off from code. Hence, it is essential for those who write it to be aware and take more precautions. Training Developers on identifying and fixing common security flaws in their code will help the organization eliminate common vulnerabilities like SQL injection and cross-site scripting or XSS. Without secure development training, developers are more likely to write code with repeat vulnerabilities – essentially turning the software into “easy money” for bug bounty security researchers who can find, report, and profit from the same vulnerabilities over and over.
Create an Internal Cybersecurity Procedure
Creating an internal cybersecurity procedure as a cybersecurity framework can help organizations understand the risk they are open to and build a continuous process of managing and fixing these security risks. Before thinking of an outsourced bug bounty program, the organization must also make internal efforts to find and fix potential security vulnerabilities.
Rather than paying others to find low-hanging vulnerabilities, these vulnerabilities can be found and remediated through relatively inexpensive manual web application security tests.
Implement basic security practices
Basic security practices like firewall penetration tests and continuous automated vulnerability scans can help prevent common cyberattacks and allow organizations to find apparent vulnerabilities. To justify a bug bounty program, an organization must observe all basic security practices and put some effort into finding vulnerabilities. Bug hunters should only be paid for finding the not-so-obvious vulnerabilities that have evaded pre-observed tests and scans by the in-house security professionals.
Considerations Before Thinking of a Bug Bounty Program
Educate Developers on Secure Coding
Most vulnerabilities in a system step off from code. Hence, it is essential for those who write it to be aware and take more precautions. Training Developers on identifying and fixing common security flaws in their code will help the organization eliminate common vulnerabilities like SQL injection and cross-site scripting or XSS. Without secure development training, developers are more likely to write code with repeat vulnerabilities – essentially turning the software into “easy money” for bug bounty security researchers who can find, report, and profit from the same vulnerabilities over and over.
Cyber extortion could come in various forms. This could include obtaining sensitive information/data about you and threatening to share it, or infecting a computer system with a virus that can only be removed if money is received. Some other common forms include data breaches or hacks where your information is stolen, threats of data loss where the hacker demands money in exchange for saving your information, and fraud where you are swindled out of money.
Create an Internal Cybersecurity Procedure
Creating an internal cybersecurity procedure as a cybersecurity framework can help organizations understand the risk they are open to and build a continuous process of managing and fixing these security risks. Before thinking of an outsourced bug bounty program, the organization must also make internal efforts to find and fix potential security vulnerabilities.
Rather than paying others to find low-hanging vulnerabilities, these vulnerabilities can be found and remediated through relatively inexpensive manual web application security tests.
Implement basic security practices
Basic security practices like firewall penetration tests and continuous automated vulnerability scans can help prevent common cyberattacks and allow organizations to find apparent vulnerabilities. To justify a bug bounty program, an organization must observe all basic security practices and put some effort into finding vulnerabilities. Bug hunters should only be paid for finding the not-so-obvious vulnerabilities that have evaded pre-observed tests and scans by the in-house security professionals.
When Should You Launch a Bug Bounty Program?
When Should You Launch a Bug Bounty Program?
Considerations Before Launching a Bug Bounty
Define Your Objectives and Expectations
Your first step in preparing your bug bounty program will be to define your business objectives and what you expect from the bug bounty program. One organization’s goals in running a bug bounty program may differ significantly from another’s, so you must be clear about what you want to achieve. This objective could be to build trust with your users, protect your organization against data breaches, strengthen your security posture, meet regulatory requirements, create a continuous testing process, or combine all these.
Clearly define your expectation from your bug bounty program and choose appropriate KPIs to help you measure effectiveness.
Prepare Your System Infrastructure
Before starting a bug bounty program, you must prepare your system by running a penetration test to help you find and patch not far-fetched loopholes to avoid attaching a bounty to the obvious. Also, ensure that third-party software is updated to prevent vulnerability to an already fixed security flaw.
Get Your Team Onboard
Your employees and in-house security professionals must be well-oriented and prepared before you crowdsource your vulnerability search through a bug bounty program. You must assign employees who will receive the reports of bug hunters, a team that researches and validates the vulnerability report, and personnel readily available to fix such vulnerabilities. Your team’s efficiency in managing the bug bounty program determines the program’s success.
Understand the Cost and Set Bounties
Bug bounty programs can be expensive. This is why you must make initial efforts to find and resolve bugs internally. However, the program’s potential benefits for organizations with financial and structural capabilities are endless. Organizations must plan on how much they can spend on the program on a measured basis and set the bounties associated with each kind of vulnerability. An excellent starting spot is about fifty USD for simple vulnerabilities and up to a thousand USD for more complex ones. This will give room for your organization to grow and increase your incentive as you get more established with the program.
Choose Between a Managed Bug Bounty or DIY Approach
Another important consideration is to decide whether to use a managed bug bounty platform like DTS Solution developed Bug Bounty Platform Crowdswarm or handle the whole process of your bug bounty program by yourself. A managed bug bounty platform can help you reduce overhead costs and suffice for missing technical capabilities in your team. The DIY approach is also beneficial because it allows you to manage your bug bounty program’s end-to-end process. The decision is subjective and must be taken only after carefully considering the pros and cons of each approach and which suits your organization best.
Create a Vulnerability Disclosure Policy
A vulnerability disclosure policy specifies how bug hunters should conduct tests on your system, the types of attacks that are permitted, and how to report discovered vulnerabilities. A vulnerability disclosure policy should go hand in hand with the objectives and launch of your bug bounty program.
Considerations Before Launching a Bug Bounty
After observing the steps mentioned earlier, and you’re sure your organization is ready for a bug bounty program, below are some factors you must consider before launching a bug bounty program.
Define Your Objectives and Expectations
Your first step in preparing your bug bounty program will be to define your business objectives and what you expect from the bug bounty program. One organization’s goals in running a bug bounty program may differ significantly from another’s, so you must be clear about what you want to achieve. This objective could be to build trust with your users, protect your organization against data breaches, strengthen your security posture, meet regulatory requirements, create a continuous testing process, or combine all these.
Clearly define your expectation from your bug bounty program and choose appropriate KPIs to help you measure effectiveness.
Prepare Your System Infrastructure
Before starting a bug bounty program, you must prepare your system by running a penetration test to help you find and patch not far-fetched loopholes to avoid attaching a bounty to the obvious. Also, ensure that third-party software is updated to prevent vulnerability to an already fixed security flaw.
Get Your Team Onboard
Your employees and in-house security professionals must be well-oriented and prepared before you crowdsource your vulnerability search through a bug bounty program. You must assign employees who will receive the reports of bug hunters, a team that researches and validates the vulnerability report, and personnel readily available to fix such vulnerabilities. Your team’s efficiency in managing the bug bounty program determines the program’s success.
Understand the Cost and Set Bounties
Bug bounty programs can be expensive. This is why you must make initial efforts to find and resolve bugs internally. However, the program’s potential benefits for organizations with financial and structural capabilities are endless. Organizations must plan on how much they can spend on the program on a measured basis and set the bounties associated with each kind of vulnerability. An excellent starting spot is about fifty USD for simple vulnerabilities and up to a thousand USD for more complex ones. This will give room for your organization to grow and increase your incentive as you get more established with the program.
Choose Between a Managed Bug Bounty or DIY Approach
Another important consideration is to decide whether to use a managed bug bounty platform like DTS Solution developed Bug Bounty Platform Crowdswarm or handle the whole process of your bug bounty program by yourself. A managed bug bounty platform can help you reduce overhead costs and suffice for missing technical capabilities in your team. The DIY approach is also beneficial because it allows you to manage your bug bounty program’s end-to-end process. The decision is subjective and must be taken only after carefully considering the pros and cons of each approach and which suits your organization best.
Create a Vulnerability Disclosure Policy
A vulnerability disclosure policy specifies how bug hunters should conduct tests on your system, the types of attacks that are permitted, and how to report discovered vulnerabilities. A vulnerability disclosure policy should go hand in hand with the objectives and launch of your bug bounty program.
Conclusion
Conclusion
See also:
Dubai