Episode 180: In this episode of Critical Thinking - Bug Bounty Podcast we’re joined by Steve Hernandez, founder of the Bug Bounty Maturity Framework (BBMF), to walk us through the inaugural State of Bug Bounty Maturity Posture Report. We go through the scores and cover Asset Hygiene, Operational Signal, how to re-engage the relationship between trust and researcher participation.

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====== Resources ======

State of Bug Bounty Maturity Posture

https://bugbountymaturity.com/research/state-of-bug-bounty-maturity-posture-2026

Take the Bug Bounty Maturity Assessment

https://bugbountymaturity.com/assessment

AI Is Compressing the Bug Bounty Maturity Curve

https://bugbountymaturity.com/research/ai-is-compressing-the-bug-bounty-maturity-curve

====== Timestamps ======

(00:00:00) Introduction

(00:04:09) State of Bug Bounty Maturity Posture

(00:22:33) Researcher Interface & Program Trust

(00:44:38) Maturity Bands and Scoring 

(01:08:19) AI Is Compressing the Bug Bounty Maturity Curve