We believe the best security programs are built around a defense-in-depth strategy.
Our goal is to empower organizations to continually strengthen every layer of their security posture.
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The Best Defense Has Layers of Depth
Continuous Vulnerability Discovery
Better Together: Pentesting + Bug Bounties for Maximum Coverage
On average, each HackerOne pentest uncovers 12 vulnerabilities, with 16% of reports classified as high or critical.
Paired with HackerOne’s bug bounty programs, which report an average of 25% high or critical issues, pentesting provides a robust solution for identifying security gaps and ensuring comprehensive coverage.
Top 10 Vulnerabilities Surfaced by a Pentest and Bug Bounty
Bug Bounty Programs
Bug bounty programs focus on real-world attack vectors and user-level issues like business logic flaws, privilege escalation, and open redirects. This practical focus explains why privilege escalation and improper authentication are frequently found in bug bounty programs but are less common in pentests.
Pentests
Pentests typically uncover more systemic or architectural vulnerabilities, such as components with known vulnerabilities, cryptographic weaknesses, or secure design violations. These issues are vital for long-term security but might not be immediately obvious to external attackers.
The connection between real-world findings from bug bounties and pentests and your SDLC highlights the importance of continuous vulnerability discovery throughout development.
“We’re a highly regulated market, so we have to run pentests. But the more we onboarded onto our bug bounty program, the more we see there are issues we haven’t found before—and they’re introduced all the time. When applications are updated, we can say we did our due diligence, but we also have hackers looking at it around the clock. It’s incredible, and we find bugs all year round now."
Alex Hagenah
Head of Cyber Controls, SIX Group
Organizations are seeing the most vulnerabilities in:
Recommendations
Define clear scopes for your PTaaS and bounty program so they complement each other rather than overlap. Use PTaaS for scheduled, structured assessments of high-priority systems and bug bounty for continuous, exploratory testing across a broader range of assets.
Centralize reporting and communication to track vulnerabilities from both programs and avoid duplicate efforts by ensuring both sets of testers can see past reports and updates, making it easier and more transparent for your internal teams as well.
Rotate pentesters to bring fresh eyes and perspectives to each assessment. Keep bug bounty always on to ensure 24x7, continuous testing by diverse security researchers.
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