Researchers have repeatedly shown that many blockchain platforms and major cryptocurrencies have serious security weaknesses, despite being worth billions. So if you want to make money using your extraordinary skills, you might want to follow in the footsteps of this researcher who found a series of security holes in the popular cryptocurrency EOS.
After extensive analysis, German ethical hacker Guido Vranken found several vulnerabilities in the EOS network, reported them to the platform's bug bounty program, and was paid $120,000.
Vranken says he discovered 11 confirmed flaws in the platform last week, and has already received $80,000 of the total. He has previously reported vulnerabilities in other cryptocurrencies including Ethereum, Ripple , and Stellar.
With such a track record behind him, it was expected that he would accept an offer from EOS to work for them, as he eventually did. Vranken has not made a statement regarding his response.
EOS has been heavily criticized in the past for its lack of security and glitches, despite raising $4 billion in a year through its initial coin offering (ICO).
Last week, a Chinese company called Qihoo360, which specializes in enterprise security, found a series of high-risk vulnerabilities in the EOS mainnet before its official launch on June 2. At the time, EOS promised that it would not launch the mainnet before fixing all the bugs, which it did not keep as there was no delay in the launch.
It is not yet known whether the bugs Vranken discovered have been fixed, but when a startup has $4 billion in its account, it can probably afford to delay the launch of its product for security reasons.
