Mozilla launches bug bounty program to beef up AI security

The rapid growth of Generative AI has spurred Mozilla to launch a comprehensive bug bounty program specifically targeting AI security vulnerabilities.

Program overview; Mozilla’s GenAI Bug Bounty Program represents a significant investment in AI security, offering rewards ranging from $500 to $15,000 for discovering vulnerabilities in generative AI systems.

• The program operates under Mozilla’s 0-DAY INVESTIGATIVE NETWORK initiative
• Researchers can participate through direct vulnerability submissions, with a Capture the Flag component announced as coming soon
• Contact and submissions are managed through dedicated channels, including email ([email protected]) and Twitter (@0dinai)

Severity tiers and rewards; The bounty structure is organized into four distinct severity levels, each addressing specific types of AI vulnerabilities.

• Low severity ($500) targets basic security issues like guardrail jailbreaks, prompt extraction, and training source vulnerabilities
• Medium severity ($2,500) covers a broader range of issues including prompt injection, interpreter jailbreaks, and content manipulation
• High severity ($5,000) focuses on critical training data concerns, including leakage and poisoning attempts
• Severe level ($15,000) addresses the most critical vulnerabilities related to model architecture, specifically weights and layers disclosure

Strategic significance; This program represents one of the first structured attempts to crowdsource AI security testing at scale.

• The initiative acknowledges the unique security challenges posed by generative AI systems
• The focus on training data and model architecture suggests Mozilla’s deep understanding of AI-specific vulnerabilities
• The program’s structure indicates a systematic approach to identifying and addressing AI security concerns across different levels of technical complexity

Technical implications; Many of the targeted vulnerabilities represent emerging threats unique to AI systems.

• Prompt injection and jailbreaking attempts seek to bypass AI safety mechanisms
• Training data poisoning could compromise model integrity at a fundamental level
• Model architecture disclosures could potentially expose proprietary information or enable more sophisticated attacks

Looking ahead; The introduction of Mozilla’s bug bounty program marks a significant shift in how the technology industry approaches AI security, potentially setting a precedent for similar programs across the sector. The upcoming Capture the Flag component suggests an evolution toward more interactive and gamified security testing methods.