It’s the final day of Bugcrowd Ingenuity Awards Week! Every day this week, we’ve highlighted standouts in the hacker community who demonstrate excellence, creativity, and the spirit of true ingenuity in cybersecurity. For our final award, we are thrilled to announce the winner of the Global Security Impact Award: T-Mobile!
T-Mobile started working with Bugcrowd two years ago and has exemplified what it means to run an industry-leading security program. We sat down with a representative from T-Mobile to learn more about its mission and partnership with Bugcrowd.
What drives T-Mobile’s commitment to cybersecurity, and how do you define your role in making the global cyber community more secure?
At T-Mobile, our goal is to be the best in the world at connecting customers to their world—and that includes protecting our customers and their data. Living up to that promise means staying sharp: guarding our networks and systems, working to stay ahead of emerging threats and always looking for ways to strengthen our security.
We know we’re stronger when we work together, and our bug bounty program is a great example of that. By teaming up with the global cyber community—especially security researchers—we can uncover and fix potential vulnerabilities before they turn into real issues. And just as important, we’re then able to share what we learn and help make the broader digital ecosystem safer for everyone.
Why did T-Mobile choose to partner with Bugcrowd, and how has this partnership helped with your security efforts?
Over the past few years, we’ve made big investments to strengthen our security and better protect data and information. As part of that journey, we saw a chance to level up our bug bounty program—and it quickly became clear that Bugcrowd was the right fit.
From our earliest conversations, it was obvious they’d be a strategic, adaptable partner who would welcome new ideas and share our goal of building stronger relationships with the cyber community. Since we teamed up, we’ve been able to scale our program, draw in top-notch researchers and identify critical vulnerabilities that might’ve otherwise gone undetected.
What is a standout moment from your Bugcrowd program that reflects your team’s impact?
A big highlight for us was launching the very first loyalty program on Bugcrowd’s platform—we recognize and reward researchers who consistently deliver high-impact results with quarterly bonus payouts and additional rewards, such as digital badges and titles based on the number of bugs they submit. The response to the program was immediate—energy in the community jumped and engagement went up.
How do you approach collaboration with the Bugcrowd community to strengthen your security posture?
We see them as key partners in our security strategy, who bring a rare mix of technical skill and relentless curiosity that makes them incredibly effective at spotting hidden security flaws. By offering a respectful, rewarding, and well-run experience through Bugcrowd, we’ve built strong, lasting relationships.
What does winning the Global Security Impact Award mean to T-Mobile?
This recognition is a huge honor—and it’s the result of a lot of hard work from a lot of people. It’s not just a win for our bug bounty program—it’s a reflection of the collaborative security culture we’ve built. It’s also a reminder of how powerful community can be. We wouldn’t be here without the researchers who dedicate their time and talent to help us improve. This award is just as much theirs as it is ours.
What’s next for T-Mobile’s cybersecurity strategy?
We’re always looking for ways to grow and improve our bug bounty program—adding new targets, fine-tuning our scope and boosting incentives. We’re also exploring more opportunities to connect with researchers in person like at our bug bash events.
Our broader cybersecurity strategy is focused on things like zero-trust, passwordless authentication, and ongoing employee education. The digital landscape is always changing, and we’re committed to staying agile, innovative and one step ahead.
What advice would you give to other organizations looking to launch or grow their crowdsourced security programs?
Start with a strong foundation: clear guidelines, fast and open communication and a solid plan for managing vulnerabilities. From there, it’s all about building trust with the Bugcrowd and security researcher community. That means offering fair rewards, paying bounties quickly and showing researchers that their work truly makes a difference.
To keep your program thriving, find ways to keep the community engaged—whether it’s launching a loyalty program, broadening your scope or hosting live events. And above all, make sure you have leadership on board. When your entire organization backs the program, everything runs smoother—and you get results faster.