Consulting Report
25 Aug 2025

The 15% Advantage

How High-Performing CISOs Leverage Crowdsourced Security

In collaboration with HackerOne, Oxford Economics surveyed 400 CISOs to understand how crowd-sourced security solutions are used across a variety of industries.

Our research examines how CISOs are expanding offensive security programs and the common hurdles to doing so—stakeholder buy-in, budget pressures, and skills gaps. It also details the practices used by a leading group of CISOs to maximize the impact of their crowdsourced security programs.

This report invites readers to see how this select group uses a combination of bug bounties, vulnerability disclosure programs (VDPs), and third-party penetration testing, among other practices, to stay ahead of the curve.

Tags:
This report was brought to you by the THOUGHT LEADERSHIP team.
High-impact, evidence-based narratives to help executives run their organisations more sustainably and profitably.
The experts behind the research
  • Matthew Reynolds

    Matthew Reynolds

    Senior Research Manager, Thought Leadership
    Matthew Reynolds

    Senior Research Manager, Thought Leadership

    Matt manages a broad spectrum of technology-centric Thought Leadership programs, from cloud and software innovation to how organizations can participate in the metaverse. He has led successful programs for dozens of large organizations during his tenure at Oxford Economics, including SAP, PwC, NTT Data, Accenture, IBM, and EY. Matt’s experience gives him deep knowledge of the ins and outs of successful end-to-end program management, and he is an integral part of the Thought Leadership team.

    With the organization since 2015, Matt holds a Bachelor’s Degree in English from The College of New Jersey. He is scheduled to graduate with an MBA in IT and Analytics at the Rutgers School of Business in May, 2023.

  • Aidan O’Farrell

    Aidan O’Farrell

    Research Manager, Thought Leadership
    Aidan O’Farrell

    Research Manager, Thought Leadership

    Aidan joined the Oxford Economics team in 2023 to support the Thought Leadership technology practice on research programs and project operations. Coming from a product management background, Aidan previously shepherded his growth ops team at a pre-seed tech startup through Series A funding. His prior experience includes extensive work on survey writing, design, coding, and data analysis, and he holds an Honors Bachelor of Arts degree in the History of Science & Technology from Brown University.

  • Revan Aponso

    Revan Aponso

    Research Associate, Thought Leadership
    Revan Aponso

    Research Associate, Thought Leadership

    Revan's research experience covers a variety of areas from venture capital and affordable lending to supply chain logistics and advanced manufacturing. Revan holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from New York University, where he also served as a staff writer for the university's Economics Review.

    Get instant access to read this report

    Get in touch

    Learn more about this report or how our team could support you:

    You might be interested in

    Global Tech Spend Forecasts

    Unlock success with enterprise IT spending forecasts for 35 industries and 25 countries.

    US Tech Spend Forecasts

    Plug into success with unparalleled IT spending market intelligence

    Global Industry Model

    An integrated model covering 100 sectors across 77 countries and the Eurozone.

    Industry Scenarios

    Quantifying the impact of policy changes and other risk events on industrial sectors.
    [autopilot_shortcode]