HackerOne bug bounties increase

BleepingComputer reports that HackerOne's bug bounty programs have granted $81 million to ethical hackers around the globe during the past 12 months, representing a 13% year-over-year increase.

Annual payouts per active program averaged almost $42,000, as the bug bounty platform's 100 largest programs handed $51 million from July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2025, according to a HackerOne report.

HackerOne also disclosed a dramatic rise in AI-related vulnerabilities. Prompt injection flaws, in particular, surged by 540%, contributing to an overall increase in AI security issues of more than 200%. While traditional flaws such as cross-site scripting and SQL injection have declined, authorization-related vulnerabilities, including insecure direct object reference and improper access control, are on the upswing.

"AI vulnerabilities increased by more than 200% this year, while enterprises expanded AI security initiatives at nearly three times last year's pace. At the same time, a new generation of 'bionic hackers'security researchers using AI to enhance their hunting abilitiesare driving the discovery of security issues at unprecedented scale," said HackerOne CEO Kara Sprague.