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ofjcihen • yesterday at 9:36 PM • 2 replies • view on HN

Well thats nice and Im happy for you but internet points don’t really mean much here…

What a vulnerability sells for and how much damage someone could do exploiting it are two different things. Someone capable of finding a serious vulnerability is probably capable of exploiting it themselves. They don’t need a buyer.

A company paying big bucks isn’t a contradiction. Its incentivizing disclosure over exploitation which could cost them considerably more. Engineering prioritization is… a minor part of it informed by the ease of exploitation, damage it could do (in the case of an RCE or publicly available keys as in this case quite a bit) etc.

I don’t see why you think these things are mutualy exclusive.


Replies

tptacek • yesterday at 10:33 PM

Having given up on the original argument ("Bounties exist to make it nominally more economical for researchers to report exploits than it is to resell them.") you've now transitioned to a new one: that vulnerabilities can be used by the hackers who find them to plan heists. And that is true. It doesn't set any kind of market-clearing price, and selects for actors who are comfortable ending up in prison, but it is indeed a statement that aligns with reality.

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kasey_junk • yesterday at 9:46 PM

You think that most security researchers that can find an exploit are all willing to commit a heist with that exploit?

I’m not in the security industry but that strains credulity.

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