The Paranoids’ Elite Bug Bounty Program: Faster Payouts, Bigger Bounty Opportunities, Direct Communications

Summary: 

• We (The Paranoids) are launching the second cycle of our Elite bug bounty program this week. This latest cycle will run from May 26 until the end of the summer (August 27).
• The program gives participating researchers more. Bigger bounty opportunities. Faster payouts. And more platforms to hack on.  
• But, if you aren’t invited, don’t worry! We’ll refresh the program in the fall by swapping in five new participants chosen from the top five researchers (by payout) from our Public program.

In mid-February, we launched our Elite program for security researchers. That program, which runs in 60-to-90 day cycles, is continuing this week with its second cycle of the year. 

Invited researchers have opportunities to earn bigger bounties, paid quicker. In some cases, participants receive payments in days or weeks instead of months. Elite program participants also get special attention. They are given direct contact with Verizon Media’s product security team over a private Slack channel. 

The scope of the Elite program also includes additional business-to-business platforms, so researchers have more opportunities to hack.

The cycle for Elite participants and qualification for the next cycle will begin on May 26 and end on August 27. As before, we’ll take a few weeks off for final triaging of reports and ranking analysis before the third cycle begins, so look for an invitation message from us in mid-to-late September to see if you qualified.  

If you aren’t invited this time, you’ll have another chance to join the program in the third cycle of the year. The top five contributors during this cycle, determined by total payouts from the Public bug bounty program will be invited to participate in the fall.