Bug bounty programs are not new at a time when humans are surrounded by technology.
Shivam Vashist, a hacker associated with US-based bug bounty and vulnerability coordination platform HackerOne, earns about $ 125,000 and that is approximately Rs 88.89 lakh a year by finding bugs in tech products, reports NDTV.
Vashist now earns enough to enable his father retire and take his family on vacations around the world, says the news website.
“On average, I am spending about 15 hours a week hacking. However, it varies from time to time, depending on my schedule,” the ethical hacker told the news organisation. He added that his parents were not aware of the concept of ethical hacking and were at first concerned. But later, the family was supportive after coming to understand what he was doing.
Vashist earned his first bounty at the age of 20 from Instacart, reports the website. "It was an incredible feeling," he told NDTV.
The report added that in the Asia-Pacific region the number of hacker-based security programmes has grown 30 per cent year on year. India stood in second place behind the US for share of earned bounties last year.
Earlier this year, HackerOne reported that hackers earned $21 million last year, amounting to about Rs 149.4 crore. The platform's popular clients are OnePlus, Zomato, Twitter and Goldman Sachs.
Published 24 December 2019, 10:26 IST