Company
Date Published
Author
Justin Kestelyn, Bugcrowd Head of Product Marketing
Word count
1669
Language
English
Hacker News points
None

Summary

Penetration testing and bug bounty programs are complementary approaches to cybersecurity risk management, with the former focusing on proactive vulnerability assessment and the latter on identifying high-impact vulnerabilities through a crowdsourced approach. Pen testing is typically time-bound, methodology-driven, and done privately, while bug bounty engagements cover finding hidden flaws that pen tests might miss, leveraging ongoing discovery of emerging or hidden vulnerabilities with a freestyle approach. The two approaches differ in intensity, with pen testing being more checklist-driven and bug bounty being more pay-for-impact. A layered strategy combining these approaches can lead to increased efficiency and cost savings, making penetration testing as a service a viable option for organizations seeking to enhance their cybersecurity posture.