AI is making it harder for companies like Apple to keep up with the outside researchers hunting for bugs in their software. The company capped how many bug submissions researchers can have open at once, responding to a flood of what Apple itself calls “slop,” low-quality reports where AI tools hallucinate security risks that don’t actually exist.
Bynario, a seven-person Italian cybersecurity startup team, found more than 50 bugs in the latest version of macOS in just three weeks, according to the Financial Times. One was serious enough that it should have been impossible to miss: a flaw that could hand an attacker full control of a Mac. Instead, Apple’s own cap blocked the report before anyone there ever saw it
“It is a very difficult time in the industry,” said Alfredo Pesoli, Bynario’s CEO and co-founder. “Maintainers and vendors have been flooded by the sheer amount of bugs.”
Apple told the FT it’s now in contact with Bynario and reviewing the submissions, and that researchers can request a higher quota at any time. Pesoli estimated the exploit alone could fetch $100,000 to $200,000 on the black market.
AI is making it harder for companies like Apple to keep up with the outside researchers hunting for bugs in their software. The company capped how many bug submissions researchers can have open at once, responding to a flood of what Apple itself calls “slop,” low-quality reports where AI tools hallucinate security risks that don’t actually exist.
Bynario, a seven-person Italian cybersecurity startup team, found more than 50 bugs in the latest version of macOS in just three weeks, according to the Financial Times. One was serious enough that it should have been impossible to miss: a flaw that could hand an attacker full control of a Mac. Instead, Apple’s own cap blocked the report before anyone there ever saw it
“It is a very difficult time in the industry,” said Alfredo Pesoli, Bynario’s CEO and co-founder. “Maintainers and vendors have been flooded by the sheer amount of bugs.”
Apple told the FT it’s now in contact with Bynario and reviewing the submissions, and that researchers can request a higher quota at any time. Pesoli estimated the exploit alone could fetch $100,000 to $200,000 on the black market.