This document outlines the legal and ethical guidelines for using the AI Bug Hunter framework. All users must read, understand, and agree to these policies before using the system.
- NEVER test systems you do not own or have explicit written permission to test
- Obtain proper authorization before conducting any security testing
- Maintain documentation of all authorizations
- Respect scope limitations defined in authorization agreements
- Follow coordinated vulnerability disclosure practices
- Report findings to appropriate parties before public disclosure
- Allow reasonable time for remediation (typically 90 days)
- Do not exploit vulnerabilities for personal gain
- Minimize data collection to what is necessary for security testing
- Do not access, modify, or exfiltrate sensitive data
- Immediately stop testing if personal or sensitive data is encountered
- Securely delete any inadvertently collected sensitive data
✅ Permitted:
- Passive reconnaissance on publicly available information
- Subdomain enumeration using public sources
- Port scanning of owned/authorized systems
- Web application security testing with permission
- Certificate transparency log analysis
- Public DNS record analysis
- OSINT gathering from public sources
- Vulnerability scanning of authorized targets
❌ Prohibited:
- Testing without explicit authorization
- Social engineering attacks
- Physical security testing
- Denial of service attacks
- Data exfiltration or modification
- Privilege escalation beyond proof-of-concept
- Testing of third-party systems without permission
- Bypassing rate limiting or security controls
- Written authorization obtained and documented
- Scope clearly defined and agreed upon
- Legal review completed (if required)
- Insurance coverage verified (if applicable)
- Emergency contact information available
- Incident response plan in place
- Stay within defined scope
- Document all activities with timestamps
- Stop immediately if unauthorized access is gained
- Report critical findings promptly
- Maintain confidentiality of findings
- Secure all evidence and findings
- Provide detailed report to authorized parties
- Delete any sensitive data collected
- Follow up on remediation efforts
- Maintain records per retention policy
- Document the vulnerability thoroughly
- Assess potential impact and exploitability
- Verify the finding is legitimate
- Check if it's already known/reported
- Contact the organization's security team
- Use established vulnerability disclosure channels
- Provide clear, actionable information
- Include proof-of-concept (non-destructive)
- Allow 5-7 business days for initial response
- Work with the organization on timeline
- Provide additional details if requested
- Respect confidentiality agreements
- Verify remediation when notified
- Coordinate public disclosure if appropriate
- Share lessons learned (anonymized)
- Implement reasonable delays between requests
- Respect robots.txt and security.txt files
- Monitor for rate limiting responses
- Reduce scan intensity if servers show stress
- Subdomain enumeration: 10 requests/second max
- Port scanning: 100 ports/second max
- Web fuzzing: 5 requests/second max
- API testing: 2 requests/second max
- Watch for HTTP 429 (Too Many Requests) responses
- Monitor server response times
- Stop testing if errors increase significantly
- Implement exponential backoff for retries
- Collect only what is necessary for proof-of-concept
- Avoid collecting personal information
- Redact sensitive data in reports
- Use synthetic data for demonstrations
- Encrypt all evidence at rest
- Use secure transmission channels
- Implement access controls
- Maintain audit logs of data access
- Keep evidence only as long as necessary
- Delete data after report delivery (unless required)
- Securely wipe storage media
- Document destruction of sensitive data
- STOP all testing immediately
- Document what happened
- Notify the target organization immediately
- Cooperate fully with investigation
- Review and improve processes
- DO NOT access or download the data
- Stop testing in that area immediately
- Notify the organization promptly
- Document the finding without exposing data
- Recommend immediate remediation
- Legal Counsel: [Contact Information]
- Security Team Lead: [Contact Information]
- Client Emergency Contact: [To be filled per engagement]
- Legal and ethical hacking principles
- Responsible disclosure practices
- Data protection and privacy laws
- Incident response procedures
- Tool-specific safety training
- Stay updated on legal developments
- Participate in security community discussions
- Review and update policies annually
- Learn from disclosed vulnerabilities and incidents
- Monthly policy review meetings
- Quarterly compliance audits
- Annual legal review
- Incident post-mortems
- All authorizations must be in writing
- Testing activities must be logged
- Findings must be documented thoroughly
- Communications must be preserved
- Mandatory retraining
- Supervised testing period
- Process improvement requirements
- Suspension of testing privileges
- Legal review and potential action
- Termination of access
- Cooperation with law enforcement if required
By using the AI Bug Hunter framework, you acknowledge that you have:
- Read and understood this policy
- Agreed to comply with all requirements
- Understand the consequences of violations
- Will seek guidance when uncertain about scope or legality
Signature: _________________________ Date: _____________
Name: _________________________ Role: _____________
This policy should be reviewed by legal counsel before implementation and updated regularly to reflect changes in laws and best practices.