Posted by Alumni from TechCrunch
October 4, 2026
Last year, TechCrunch reported that cybersecurity experts were warning of that AI slop posed a serious risk to bug bounty programs. Looks like that's the issue confronting Google's Open Source Software Vulnerability Rewards Program, where researchers were rewarded for finding vulnerabilities in the company's open source software. In posts on X and the program website, Google said the bug bounty program was paused as of October 1, with a promise to provide 'an update' in the first quarter of 2027. According to Tom's Hardware, Google engineers and open source maintainers were overwhelmed by reports that were invalid or contained hallucinations. Get 50% off a second passThe Disrupt experience is meant to be shared. Get your pass and bring a colleague, partner, or peer at 50% off. Cover more ground by making connections, building momentum, and discovering what's next in the startup ecosystem. learn more