AI Boosts Bug Bounty Payouts, Cuts Disclosure Time
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- Apple raised its top bug bounty from $200,000 in 2016 to $2 million in 2023, reflecting a rapid escalation in payouts.
- Joseph Thacker predicts Google will spend two‑to‑ten‑fold more on bug payouts after tripling his own submissions.
- Himanshu Anand warned that the 90‑day responsible‑disclosure window, built for slow exploit development, is now obsolete because LLMs compress discovery and exploit creation timelines.
- LLMs can autonomously discover software flaws and generate exploits, compressing the timeline for both attackers and defenders.
Why it matters: Bug bounty programs face soaring costs—Apple’s top prize hit $2 M and Google’s bug‑bounty spending is projected at two‑to‑ten‑fold higher levels—while faster AI‑driven discovery forces firms to patch quickly, slashing the traditional 90‑day window and straining security teams.
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