🛡️ AI Bug Hunter Becomes #1 in U.S. — Outpaces Human Hackers on HackerOne
- NewBits Media
- Jul 6
- 3 min read
In a landmark moment for cybersecurity and artificial intelligence, an autonomous AI named XBOW has claimed the #1 spot on HackerOne’s U.S. leaderboard, beating thousands of human hackers at their own game.
Developed as an independent penetration tester, the AI bug hunter submitted over 1,000 vulnerability reports in just a few months, marking the first time an autonomous AI has dominated a real-world bug bounty program at this scale.
“All findings were fully automated,” said Nico Waisman, XBOW’s Head of Security. “We treated [XBOW] like any external researcher would: no shortcuts, no internal access — just XBOW, running on its own.”
🧠 Inside the Rise of the AI Bug Hunter
XBOW wasn’t just thrown into the deep end. Its training began with cybersecurity "Capture The Flag" (CTF) puzzles before graduating to real-world environments. The system includes an internal validator layer — a mix of LLMs and custom scripts — that double-checks each finding before submission.
Each bug report must meet HackerOne’s standards, and every submission was reviewed by human staff to remain compliant with HackerOne’s AI policy.
📊 The Results: 1,000+ Reports, 132 Confirmed Fixes
In just a few months of operation, here’s what XBOW achieved:
132 vulnerabilities confirmed and resolved
303 triaged (acknowledged but not fixed yet)
125 still under review
208 duplicates
209 informative findings
36 applicable but borderline bugs
And in terms of severity:
🔴 54 critical vulnerabilities
🟠 242 high severity
🟡 524 medium severity
🔵 65 low severity
That’s more than 800 real, actionable security findings, discovered autonomously.
🚀 Backed by Major VC: $75M Raised
The AI’s breakout success has drawn attention from top investors. XBOW just closed a $75 million funding round led by Altimeter Capital, with participation from Sequoia Capital and NFDG, according to Bloomberg.
The funding signals growing confidence in autonomous security research—not just as a tool, but as a major industry force.
🔍 Why It’s Important
Bug bounty programs are a cornerstone of modern cybersecurity, relying on skilled human researchers to find vulnerabilities before bad actors do. The rise of an AI system that can match—and outperform—human experts has wide-reaching implications:
For enterprises: faster, cheaper, and scalable vulnerability detection
For security teams: AI as a force multiplier, not just an assistant
For researchers: a wake-up call—AI isn’t coming; it’s here
⚠️ But Let’s Be Clear: This Isn’t “AI Replacing Hackers”
Human oversight was still required. XBOW's success was amplified by strong internal QA, ethical review, and years of collective domain expertise. But it did the actual hunting alone.
It’s not about replacing security researchers—it’s about augmenting their abilities with tireless, 24/7 precision.
“AI is no longer just helping with security. It’s doing security,” said Waisman. “And doing it better than most of us.”
🔐 Cybersecurity is no longer just human vs. hacker. It’s AI vs. the unknown.
And XBOW just showed us what that future looks like.
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