Google’s Vulnerability Rewards Program (VRP) faced inefficiencies due to a flood of low-value bug reports, diverting security team resources from critical threats. Before July 2024, the program struggled with a high volume of low-severity submissions, straining triage and remediation efforts. While the program aimed to uncover high-impact vulnerabilities, the lack of targeted incentives led to an imbalance—skilled researchers prioritized easier, lower-tier bugs, and new contributors often submitted minimal or irrelevant findings. After restructuring payouts in July 2024—with up to a **200% increase for Tier 0 (most severe) vulnerabilities**—Google observed a **tripling of critical bug reports**, but the shift also revealed systemic risks. The delay in addressing this imbalance had already allowed potential **high-severity vulnerabilities (e.g., zero-days, authentication bypasses, or data exfiltration paths)** to remain undetected longer than necessary. Competitors or malicious actors could have exploited these gaps, leading to **unauthorized access, data breaches, or systemic compromises** had the program not adapted. The initial misalignment in rewards effectively **masked critical risks**, leaving Google exposed to attacks that could have escalated to **organizational disruption or reputational damage** if unmitigated.
Source: https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2025/10/07/bug-bounty-rewards-better-results/
TPRM report: https://www.rankiteo.com/company/googlecloudsecurity
"id": "goo3062030100725",
"linkid": "googlecloudsecurity",
"type": "Vulnerability",
"date": "7/2024",
"severity": "85",
"impact": "4",
"explanation": "Attack with significant impact with customers data leaks"{'affected_entities': [{'industry': 'Internet Services',
'location': 'Global (HQ: Mountain View, California, '
'USA)',
'name': 'Google',
'size': 'Large (Alphabet Inc. subsidiary)',
'type': 'Technology Company'},
{'industry': 'Technology/Information Security',
'location': 'Global',
'name': 'Bug Bounty Programs (Industry-Wide)',
'type': 'Cybersecurity Initiatives'}],
'date_publicly_disclosed': '2024-07-01',
'description': 'A study conducted by researchers from Harvard, Bocconi '
'University, Hebrew University, and Google Research analyzed '
"the effects of Google's July 2024 decision to increase "
'payouts for Tier 0 (most severe) vulnerabilities by up to '
'200%. The study found that higher rewards led to a tripling '
'of critical vulnerability reports, a 20% rise in total '
'submissions, and an increase in high-merit submissions '
'(well-documented and actionable). The shift also attracted '
'veteran researchers to focus on high-value targets and '
'brought in a small group of new, highly productive '
'contributors. However, the study highlighted challenges such '
'as resource strain from low-value submissions and competition '
'for skilled researchers among bug bounty programs. Experts '
'emphasized the importance of targeted rewards, researcher '
'engagement, fast triage, and trust-building measures (e.g., '
'recognition, transparency, safe harbor) for long-term program '
'success. The study predates the rise of AI-powered '
'bug-hunting tools, suggesting future research may need to '
"account for automation's impact.",
'impact': {'brand_reputation_impact': ['Positive: Improved vulnerability '
'detection',
'Potential negative: Delays in triage '
'or communication could harm '
'researcher trust'],
'operational_impact': ['Increased triage workload for low-value '
'submissions',
'Resource allocation challenges for '
'security teams',
'Competition for skilled researchers among '
'programs']},
'investigation_status': 'Completed (Academic Study)',
'lessons_learned': ['Higher payouts for critical vulnerabilities (Tier 0) '
'significantly increase high-quality submissions, but '
'broad payout increases may strain resources with '
'low-value reports.',
'Veteran researchers shift focus to high-value targets '
'when rewards increase, while a small group of new, '
'productive researchers may join the program.',
'Competition for skilled researchers intensifies when '
'programs raise payouts, creating a talent marketplace '
'dynamic.',
'Success depends on more than payouts: fast triage, clear '
'scope, researcher engagement, and trust-building (e.g., '
'recognition, transparency, safe harbor) are critical.',
'Researcher experience (e.g., fast feedback, respectful '
'communication) often matters more than reward amounts '
'alone.',
'Metrics like signal-to-noise ratio, time-to-triage, and '
'researcher retention should be tracked to assess program '
'maturity.',
'Future programs may need to adapt to AI-powered '
'bug-hunting tools and their impact on human effort.'],
'motivation': ['Financial Incentives (Bug Bounty Payouts)',
'Research Recognition',
'Competitive Advantage for Researchers'],
'post_incident_analysis': {'corrective_actions': ['Implement tiered reward '
'structures prioritizing '
'high-impact '
'vulnerabilities (e.g., '
'Tier 0).',
'Adopt targeted campaigns '
'and bonuses for specific '
'areas of concern to guide '
'researcher focus.',
'Enhance researcher '
'experience through faster '
'triage, transparent '
'communication, and '
'non-monetary recognition.',
'Establish metrics to track '
'program maturity (e.g., '
'signal-to-noise ratio, '
'researcher retention).',
'Explore safe harbor '
'policies and paid '
'engagements to build trust '
'with the researcher '
'community.',
'Monitor emerging trends '
'(e.g., AI tools) and adapt '
'program designs to '
'integrate automation '
'effectively.'],
'root_causes': ['Generic payout increases can lead '
'to resource strain from low-value '
'submissions without improving '
'quality.',
'Competition for skilled '
'researchers may divert talent '
'from smaller or less competitive '
'programs.',
'Lack of clear scope or reward '
'structure can result in '
'misaligned researcher efforts '
'(e.g., low-risk submissions).']},
'recommendations': ['Benchmark payouts against similar programs in your '
'industry, but concentrate rewards on high-impact '
'vulnerabilities.',
'Run targeted campaigns with bonus rewards for '
'medium-to-critical vulnerabilities in specific areas of '
'concern.',
'Identify worst-case scenario vulnerabilities and attach '
'significant bonuses to prioritize researcher focus.',
'Define a clear, focused scope for external research to '
'avoid low-risk submissions and align with high-risk '
'breach prevention.',
'Prioritize researcher experience: fast, human triage; '
'respectful feedback; and transparent communication '
'(e.g., updates on delays).',
'Implement trust-building measures like safe harbor '
'policies, paid researcher engagements, and non-monetary '
'recognition (e.g., hall of fame, swag, CEO letters).',
'Track key metrics (signal quality, triage speed, '
'time-to-fix) to evaluate program effectiveness and '
'researcher satisfaction.',
'Prepare for the impact of AI tools on bug hunting by '
'monitoring automation trends and adjusting reward '
'structures accordingly.'],
'references': [{'source': 'Help Net Security',
'url': 'https://www.helpnetsecurity.com'},
{'source': 'Google Research (Vulnerability Rewards Program '
'Study)'},
{'source': 'Intigriti (Ottilia Westerlund, Hacker Engagement '
'Manager)',
'url': 'https://www.intigriti.com'},
{'source': 'Alvearium Associates (Christian Toon, Chief '
'Security Strategist)'},
{'source': 'UpCloud (Jukka Seppänen, CISO and CIO)',
'url': 'https://www.upcloud.com'}],
'response': {'communication_strategy': ['Public disclosure of study findings',
'Expert commentary (Help Net '
'Security, industry interviews)',
'Recommendations for bug bounty '
'program optimization'],
'third_party_assistance': ['Academic researchers (Harvard, '
'Bocconi University, Hebrew '
'University)',
'Industry experts (Intigriti, '
'Alvearium Associates, UpCloud)']},
'stakeholder_advisories': ['Bug bounty program managers should align reward '
'structures with business-critical vulnerabilities '
'to optimize resource allocation.',
'Security teams must balance triage efficiency '
'with researcher engagement to maintain trust and '
'program effectiveness.',
'Industry collaboration (e.g., benchmarking, '
'shared insights) can help smaller programs '
'compete for researcher attention.'],
'title': 'Google Vulnerability Rewards Program (VRP) Study: Impact of '
'Increased Bug Bounty Payouts on Vulnerability Reporting Quality and '
'Quantity',
'type': ['Bug Bounty Program Analysis', 'Vulnerability Research Study']}