Bugcrowd and Cal Poly Join Forces to Improve Cybersecurity and Train Next Generation of Cyber Defenders

SAN LUIS OBISPO, CA–July 31, 2018– Bugcrowd, the leader in crowdsourced security, and Cal Poly today announced a coordinated effort to address the growing cybersecurity issues affecting our government, economy and daily lives.

The two entities are embarking on a two-year program to conduct research that benefits the cybersecurity community, develop products to help organizations prevent and remediate cybersecurity issues, and provide real-world, hands-on training for students through the California Cybersecurity Institute (CCI) at Cal Poly.

“It’s not simply about the growing threat of breaches, or even the outside pressure from external researchers — although these are very real drivers of crowdsourced security — it is about being a responsible citizen in our digital economy,” said Ashish Gupta, CEO of Bugcrowd. “We take this responsibility seriously, which is why we have invested in this effort by Cal Poly. We are proud to work with them to train the next generation of cyber defenders and help fund the California Cybersecurity Institute to build a world-class training and testing ground for security research.”

Bugcrowd will collaborate with faculty and student researchers at its offices while working closely with military and industry thought leaders in security, cloud and computer infrastructure. Bugcrowd is also providing grants to develop the CCI, opportunities for security and data analytics internships to Cal Poly students, and a Bug Bounty program with Cal Poly’s White Hat Club to offer real-life hack-a-thon experiences that will help students build their skills and careers prospects in the security industry.

“Since there is no crime today that does not involve a cyber component, Bugcrowd’s valued support enables the CCI to provide research and training for preparation against cyberattacks,” said Jimmy Baker, director for industry outreach at the CCI. “Graduate and undergraduate students will work in tandem with leading academic researchers and private sector experts like Bugrowd. With access to real-world data and the opportunity to solve prevailing security challenges, the students will gain a competitive advantage that will benefit the broader community and technology ecosystem.”

The CCI is a robust, multi-agency effort to protect California from future cyberthreats through training and research for government, academia, military, law enforcement, first responders and private entities. The CCI’s digital range differentiates its training program from others by creating immersive, scenario-based exercises on issues including next-generation cloud computing, anti-human trafficking, healthcare, critical infrastructure and even vehicular vulnerabilities.   

As a leader in crowdsourced security, Bugcrowd has delivered hundreds of successful bug bounty, vulnerability disclosure and next-gen pen test programs, helping crowdsourced security grow into a best practice for organizations of any size and any stage of security maturity.  Bugcrowd CrowdRank platform and in-house security and trust engineers provides the best triage and validation services in the industry which uniquely differentiates the company’s offering in terms of customer return on investment. Through the CCI, Bugcrowd will pass this experience on to students, providing real life experience and empowering them to build their resumes, ultimately training the next-generation of cyber defenders.

About Bugcrowd

Bugcrowd is the #1 crowdsourced security platform. More enterprise organizations trust Bugcrowd to manage their bug bounty, vulnerability disclosure, and next-gen pen test programs. By combining the largest, most experienced triage team with the most trusted hackers around the world, Bugcrowd generates better results, reduces risk through remediation advice, and empowers organizations to release secure products to market faster — with no hidden fees. Based in San Francisco, Bugcrowd is backed by Blackbird Ventures, Costanoa Ventures, Industry Ventures, Paladin Capital Group, Rally Ventures, Salesforce Ventures and Triangle Peak Partners. Bugcrowd. Outhack Them AllTM. Learn more at www.bugcrowd.com.

About the California Cybersecurity Institute

A partnership between Cal Poly, California Office of Emergency Services, California Specialized Training Institute, and the California Military Department, the CCI aims to educate the next generation of the cyber workforce and provide faculty and students with a new, hands-on research and learning environment. It serves as an extended Learn by Doing space for Cal Poly students to explore new cyber technologies and train and test tactics side by side with law enforcement professionals and cyberforensics experts. Learn more at https://cci.calpoly.edu/.