World Network ups bounty for critical bugs, releases treasure map for bug hunters

The only good bug is a dead bug: so says digital ID network World, née Worldcoin, which is increasing payouts for its Bug Bounty program.

A blog post says the new reward structure is a tiered model that “prioritizes vulnerabilities in high-impact areas” by “offering stronger incentives for more impactful findings.”

The maximum reward for those classified as the most severe primary assets is increasing to $25,000. For secondary assets, which are either more recent or less critical, the maximum bounty is $10,000. Assets are classified in terms of severity using CVSS 4.0.

On the low end, primary assets can yield between $100 and $500; for secondary, $100 to $300.

Other new features coming to the Bug Bounty program include “mini apps” developed by Tools for Humanity (TFH) to enable development directly within World App; the Face Auth and World ID facial authentication and credential system; and new World Chain smart contracts that have migrated to the blockchain.

To help aspiring digital Mandalorians, the TFH security team has released a “treasure map” to GitHub, to which “information and assets will continually be added.”

Pura Vida now comes with World Network’s biometric Orbs

Continuing on its path to global penetration following a major rebrand, the World Network has launched in Costa Rica. A report from Q Costa Rica says the company’s spherical iris capture device, the Orb, will be rolling into at least four locations in the capital of San Jose this week.

Miguel Rocha is Regional Manager for Central America at Tools for Humanity – a company that, since the restructuring, is technically a service provider for the World Foundation. He says “World ID is creating the tools humanity needs to prepare for the AI ​​era, designing the largest digital and financial identity network that preserves privacy and provides digital inclusion for all humans. World ID doesn’t pretend to know who you are; it simply recognizes you as a unique human, a distinction that is increasingly important as AI advances.”

Plus, it makes shopping easier: World is also partnering with daily discount site Yuplón, which becomes the first Costa Rican platform to integrate with World Network. It joins South American delivery app Rappi among World’s partners in Latin America.

Orb-on-demand plan has ‘set off alarm’ for Chilean regulator

World, however, is facing a few bumps on the road into Latin America. Regulators in Chile are not happy about the Rappi partnership, which would enable at-home iris scanning with delivery Orbs. As a result, the National Consumer Service (Sernac) has asked the courts to suspend World’s operations.

A statement from Sernac says the company’s objective to become “a valid accreditation method for different markets, in which, through its application, the identity of a person can be accredited as a unique being and that it is not a machine” could infringe aspects of the Consumer Law and the Personal Data Protection Law.

“After the announcement by ‘World’ to double down and not only perform iris scans in fixed spaces, but also go to people’s homes for this and also communicate a series of new features of its business model, Sernac has set off its alarms: the multinational could be exceeding the limits in several aspects related to the protection and use of personal data.”

In response to Sernac’s concerns, Rappi has clarified that the Orb-on-demand delivery pilot will only run in Argentina during the first quarter of next year – for now. “The development of said service in Chile is not planned,” it says in a letter to Sernac.

The case echoes accusations that have hounded World since its bygone Coin days: Chile does not believe the company has been up front enough with people about why it is collecting iris biometrics, or what it intends to do with them. An anecdote recounted on Sernac’s website describes World operators touting Orbs on the beach, offering “proof of human” like a beaded necklace – to a minor.

Sernac has been an ardent opponent of World, having already sued the company in August for potentially large fines. The friction could present a long-term problem for the firm, given the number of users it has in Chile, which represent some 760,000 irises collected – 11 percent of all the company’s eye data.

Its largest LATAM market remains Argentina, where World and TFH have scanned 2 million irises.

Article Topics

biometrics  |  bug bounty  |  Chile  |  Costa Rica  |  digital ID  |  iris biometrics  |  Tools for Humanity  |  World  |  World App  |  World ID Orb