BugHunting Campaign 2026 opens for applications (with photo)
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Launched in 2023, the BugHunting Campaign seeks to mitigate cybersecurity challenges stemming from rapid advancement of digital technologies and artificial intelligence (AI) by offering free vulnerability detection services to a broad range of local organisations and enhancing their capacity to recognise and respond effectively to AI-related risks.
The 2026 campaign will run from October this year through February next year. In addition to continuing its support for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), the campaign invites participation from organisations across diverse sectors and categories, with the objective of strengthening Hong Kong’s overall cybersecurity resilience. In the 2025 campaign, a total of 185 organisations participated, resulting in the successful identification of 223 system vulnerabilities.
With the extensive application of AI, a number of organisations have begun implementing Agentic AI solutions that possess the capacity to autonomously plan tasks, invoke tools, and integrate across multiple systems. Such deployments, however, may give rise to new risks. BugHunting Campaign 2026 will continue to adopt a bug bounty-based vulnerability detection model, intergrating AI-assisted screening technologies with the expertise of cybersecurity professionals to provide free vulnerability detection services for participating organisations. Security reviews will be conducted on AI-enabled applications, including chatbots, workflow automation, internal knowledge bases and tool-using AI agents. These measures will enable the organisations to identify risks at an early stage, thereby mitigating the risk of data leakage and exposure to cyber attacks.
The co-organiser, Cyberbay, will continue to adopt a real-name identity and credential verification mechanism that aligns with banking-grade security standards. All recruited cybersecurity professionals will be required to undergo technical assessments and background checks. Only those who are qualified will be permitted to deliver vulnerability detection services to participating organisations.
Participating organisations will receive comprehensive assessment reports together with complimentary one-on-one professional consultation services to facilitate a clear understanding of the findings and the implementation of recommended improvements, including security configuration, internal governance and risk controls for agentic AI deployments. In addition, employees of participating organisations may receive cybersecurity awareness training designed to strengthen their information security awareness and response capability, with particular emphasis on identifying AI-generated content, mitigating deepfake-related risks, and increasing vigilance against social engineering and investment scams.
BugHunting Campaign 2026 is now open for registration until October 31. SMEs and organisations are welcome to participate. Further details of the campaign and registration arrangements are available on the relevant websites: (cyberdefender.hk/en-us/bughuntingcampaign2026) and (cyberbay.tech/bughunting-campaign-2026).
Ends/Tuesday, September 1, 2026
Issued at HKT 13:12
Issued at HKT 13:12
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