With over four years of experience as a hacker and a Senior Solutions Architect at Bugcrowd, I want to let you in on trade secrets that keep hackers coming back to engagements. I’ve reviewed hundreds of engagements and observed good, bad, and downright confusing engagement strategies. I’ve seen customers show up super excited to start but end up feeling a bit lost and overwhelmed by choices. To combat this issue, I started a short series designed to guide customers through choosing the right engagement type, writing a brief, and retaining hackers. To start at the beginning of this series, check out this blog post. 

Let’s expand on what it means to have a successful engagement with Bugcrowd. 

 

Who this guide is for

For those who are launching or are already running a bug bounty engagement, this guide outlines 10 core values to help you create a successful engagement that attracts and retains top hackers.

Before we discuss the laws, here’s some food for thought. What makes your engagement special? Why should top hackers hack your engagement instead of one with a different scope? Is your differentiator your rewards? Is it familiarity? In the world of hacking and cybersecurity, the competition is stiff, and attention spans are limited.

Hackers rapidly evaluate the scope of testing, the type of testing, the purpose of an engagement, the rewards, and the information immediately available that allows them to start quickly. They decide whether to join an engagement based on these criteria.

 

The 10 laws of successful bug bounty engagements

1. Respect everyone’s time

Unlike traditional testing, crowdsourced security pays for impact, not time. As a result, hackers are only rewarded for successfully identifying vulnerabilities, not for the time spent finding and submitting vulnerabilities. After a hacker has opened your engagement page, they make a quick decision: invest time in your program or move on to another. Make their decision easy by including these elements:

  • Key information about your engagement up front—This allows hackers to make quick decisions and start hacking. Keep the brief concise and comprehensive to avoid losing potential hackers’ attention. 
  • Other relevant information to your engagement—Carefully consider if additional information can be attached or hyperlinked. 

2. Eliminate ambiguity

Ambiguity is frustrating and avoiding ambiguous or vague information goes a long way.  A previous manager of mine always made sure I answered questions preemptively. This eliminated unnecessary back-and-forth and helped people get started immediately. To attract hackers to explore your page, aim to avoid ambiguity or questions by explicitly laying out the following information:

  • In-scope and out-of-scope assets
  • Testing boundaries
  • A clear brief that features no conflicting language/information.

Remember: Every minute spent clarifying scope is a minute not spent finding vulnerabilities.

3. Design for flow

An enticing brief is how you set yourself apart. The structure of your brief should flow in a way that immediately excites hackers. Additionally, your brief must provide relevant and important details first before ending with the boring but necessary stuff. I go into a lot more depth on structure and flow in How to write an enticing managed bug bounty brief, but below is a very quick recap: 

  • Start with a quick overview to hook a visitor.
  • Follow with your detailed scope and rules to ensure hackers have what they need to start quickly.
  • If you have requirements/formalities, put them in the Additional Info section (the boring but necessary stuff).

Pro tip: Have another security professional (that includes members of the Bugcrowd team 😉) review your engagement brief. What’s obvious to you might be confusing to others.

4. Provide a personal touch

Every person wants to be seen for their efforts and treated with respect and courtesy. Hackers aren’t robots, nor are they required to hack your engagement. They’re humans who love to ethically hack and do their part in securing the World Wide Web, related devices, and people’s data. Show that you understand this by:

  • Acknowledging repeat contributors on your engagement
  • Providing personalized feedback on reports
  • Remembering that hackers come from diverse backgrounds with varying levels of English proficiency; be courteous if their communication has some gaps. 

5. Provide rich context

Help hackers understand your environment. Simply providing a list of endpoints or targets is not an effective use of time or space on your engagement brief. Remember: You’re paying for impact. This means you want to reduce the barriers to entry and help hackers find vulnerabilities faster. You can do this by:

  • Explaining how different components interact
  • Sharing relevant business contexts (e.g., “This API handles customer financial data”)
  • Describing your tech stack and architecture where relevant.

6. Know your audience

Attending international schools gave me a deep appreciation for the diverse cultures around the world. Hackers come from all areas of the globe, meaning not all speak English as their first language. Show that you understand and appreciate their diverse backgrounds by keeping these easy tips in mind:

  • Write clearly and use simple language.
  • Don’t make assumptions—every hacker has a different level of understanding.
  • Provide examples and screenshots where possible.
  • Remind yourself that communication through text isn’t ideal when people have varying levels of English proficiency. For example, “translation” may not always mean what you think it does. 

7. Structure rewards thoughtfully

Hackers primarily hack for two reasons: the thrill of hacking itself and rewards! Maintain a clear reward structure to motivate hackers. This is a key factor that can sway hackers deciding whether they want to hunt on your engagement. For more information about recommended rewards, check out Why bug bounty payouts are worth far more than their cost. Clearly outline your reward structure by following these rules:

  • Define how a vulnerability is eligible for a reward.
  • Explain how severity is to be assessed (e.g., using the VRT) and any modifications or exclusions that may affect the severity level.
  • Consider bonuses for exceptional findings or research by setting a maximum reward; this would reflect your huge appreciation for and gratitude toward hackers.

8. Celebrate success

If you do something enough times, you can eventually lose sight of what you’re doing and why. When a hacker finds something significant, let them know their contribution matters. It’s such a wonderful feeling to know you’ve made a positive change in the world! Such acknowledgements show appreciation for the hacker, build positive relationships with the hacker community, and keep hackers coming back for more. 

An easy example of how you can show appreciation is a quick, “We wanted to let you know that your discovery of the authentication bypass helped us protect thousands of users. This is exactly why we use crowdsourced security!” This simple show of gratitude and validation will go miles in retaining top talent on your engagement. 

9. Keep it engaging

Bug bounty engagements should be challenging but enjoyable. Running specials or surprising hackers with something outside of the ordinary is a sure way to keep them excited about your engagement. Keep your engagement, well…engaging, by including these proven tactics:

  • Run special incentives, challenges, or competitions. Reach out to your Solutions Architect for a hand with this (I love coming up with these).
  • Highlight exceptional findings (with permission).
  • Create a community around your engagement by maintaining regular incentives and communication with active hackers.

10. Maintain and evolve

A successful engagement requires ongoing effort. This means checking in, evaluating, and then adjusting where needed. Like anything else, things can get stale and become outdated. Keep it fresh by: 

  • Regularly reviewing and updating your scope
  • Adjusting rewards to stay competitive
  • Seeking feedback from your hacker community
  • Engaging with Bugcrowd platform support for guidance and optimization.

Extra credit

Want to make your engagement really stand out? Consider these advanced tips:

  • Offer professional references for outstanding contributors.
  • Create a VIP engagement with exclusive scope and rewards for trusted hackers.
  • Be transparent and share success stories and lessons learned.
  • Build relationships with your regular contributors (or as I prefer to call them, “anchor hackers”).

 

Conclusion

The crowdsourced security space is getting more competitive every day. Hackers are spoiled for choice. Therefore, the success of your engagement relies on a balance of valuing hackers, providing enticing scope and rewards, and consistently engaging with Bugcrowd to stay relevant. 

Every day, new engagements launch and existing ones improve. Therefore, your success depends on creating an environment where hackers feel valued, respected, and motivated to give their best effort.

By following these principles, you’re not just running a bug bounty program—you’re building a community of security professionals invested in your success.

Need help implementing these guidelines? Reach out to us! That’s what we’re here for 👋.

Happy hunting! 🎯

Tags: