[Edaily Reporter An Yu-ri ] Cybersecurity firm GENIANS, INC.(263860)announced that as a result of operating its “Security Vulnerability Reporting Reward Program” in the first half of 2026, the number of reported vulnerabilities increased by approximately 129% year-over-year, while the total amount of rewards paid out rose by approximately 1,046%.

This growth is the result of the widespread adoption of AI technology combined with the emergence of high-risk vulnerabilities. As AI technology has advanced rapidly, the use of AI by white-hat hackers has also increased significantly. In particular, detection activities that utilize AI to automatically identify security vulnerabilities are establishing themselves as a new trend.

The security vulnerability reporting reward program (bug bounty) is a system that pays rewards to white-hat hackers who discover security weaknesses in software or web services. With the recent normalization of ultra-fast, large-scale, and sophisticated AI threats—which exploit AI—it is widely assessed that the existing information security framework, centered on reactive measures, has reached its fundamental limits.

A paradigm shift toward a proactive, round-the-clock prevention system—one that prevents a single security incident from escalating into a major disaster and proactively identifies and eliminates threats—is urgently needed. Accordingly, a system for reporting, addressing, and disclosing security vulnerabilities is now essential.

Global IT companies such as Google, Apple, and Amazon are also actively operating bug bounty programs. Since joining as a co-operator of the New Software Vulnerability Reporting and Reward Program run by KISA, GENIANS, INC. launched its own independent bug bounty program in 2022—the first of its kind in the domestic security industry.

Recently, in major countries around the world, an integrated security vulnerability management system that links bug bounties with Vulnerability Disclosure Programs (VDPs) and Collaborative Vulnerability Disclosure (CVD) has emerged as a key trend.

GENIANS, INC. has proactively adopted an approach that links the participation and rewards of white-hat hackers to VDP and CVD procedures. Rather than merely taking corrective actions, the company transparently announces detailed information about resolved vulnerabilities through the official channels of each individual product. This supports client companies in performing updates quickly and safely without the risk of vulnerability exposure.

Since February of this year, GENIANS, INC. has expanded its bug bounty program to cover all products and services and is continuously accepting reports from white-hat hackers worldwide through its official Korean and English webpages. In particular, by linking its company-wide security research services with a global community platform, GENIANS, INC. manages and disseminates information on product vulnerabilities in a more systematic and comprehensive manner.

As part of this effort, GENIANS, INC. is implementing security advisory measures using the “Security Advisories” feature on GitHub, a global open-source platform. The company obtains CVE IDs—an international standard—for discovered vulnerabilities and transparently discloses the product’s reliability and the status of prompt corrective actions.

Kim Gye-yeon, CTO and Head of the U.S. subsidiary at GENIANS, INC., stated, “The results of our bug bounty program go beyond simply discovering vulnerabilities; they demonstrate GENIANS, INC.’s unique defensive capabilities that enable us to proactively respond to sophisticated threats in the AI era.” “Going forward, we will further solidify our in-house bug bounty program into a CVD/VDP system that meets global standards to provide reliable products to customers worldwide and lead the healthy development of the global security ecosystem,” he added.