According to Windows Report | Error-free Tech Life, Microsoft has introduced a major new bug bounty model called “In Scope by Default,” announced by Tom Gallagher from the Microsoft Security Response Center during Black Hat Europe. The policy automatically places all Microsoft online services under bounty eligibility immediately upon launch, closing a major limitation of previous programs. Crucially, the new rules cover flaws found in third-party components and open-source code running inside Microsoft’s services. Gallagher stated that starting now, any critical vulnerability with a direct impact on online services is eligible for a bounty award, regardless of code ownership. This shift is designed to encourage faster community engagement and earlier vulnerability discovery across Microsoft’s entire cloud ecosystem.
The Strategy Behind The Shift
This isn’t just a nice-to-have policy update. It’s a strategic necessity. Microsoft‘s business is overwhelmingly cloud and services now—Azure, Microsoft 365, Dynamics. Their revenue depends on trust. So, having a patchwork bounty program where some services were in and some were out? That created blind spots. Dangerous ones. Here’s the thing: modern software is a mosaic of owned code, third-party libraries, and open-source components. A vulnerability in an open-source library powering Azure is just as exploitable as one in Microsoft’s own code. The old model basically invited researchers to ignore whole swaths of their infrastructure. Now, the incentive is clear and universal: find a critical bug in our online ecosystem, get paid. It’s a smarter way to crowdsource security for a cloud giant.
Why This Matters Beyond Microsoft
Look, Microsoft is setting a new bar for transparency with security researchers. And that pressure will ripple out. Other major cloud providers and software-as-a-service companies are watching. Can they afford to have a less welcoming, less comprehensive program if Microsoft is waving researchers their way with clearer rules and broader scope? Probably not. This move also tries to get ahead of the regulatory curve. Governments worldwide are pushing for stricter software liability and security accountability. By taking a “we own the remediation” stance for *everything* in their service stack, Microsoft is building a strong compliance and PR narrative. They’re basically saying, “You’re safe with us, no matter where the flaw originates.” It’s a powerful message for enterprise customers.
The Real-World Impact
So what changes on the ground? For security researchers, the hunting grounds just got a lot bigger and the rules of engagement got simpler. No more checking a list to see if a service qualifies. If it’s a Microsoft online service, it’s fair game. This should lead to more bugs being reported through official, coordinated channels instead of being sold on gray markets or left undisclosed. For Microsoft’s own teams, the workload likely increases—but that’s the point. They’re opting into more scrutiny to *prevent* breaches, which are far more costly. It turns their entire user base and the research community into a continuous, paid audit team. That’s a clever, if demanding, operational model. The big question is: will the bounty awards be attractive enough to keep the focus there? That’s the next piece to watch.
