The first “Bug Bounty” in cannabis.
Earlier this year, a breach known as The Great Cannabis Hack exposed the personal data of more than 380,000 cannabis consumers across North America. The attack, first reported by Forbes cybersecurity writer Davey Winder, targeted several third-party software vendors that power online ordering and loyalty platforms for dispensaries.
According to Winder’s investigation, the leaked databases included names, emails, phone numbers, and purchase histories, many linked to verified customer accounts and loyalty programs. Though no payment data was exposed, the breach illustrated how much sensitive information is stored across cannabis tech systems — and how little visibility most consumers have into how that data is managed.
For regulators and retailers alike, it was a wake-up call. Cannabis companies have built digital infrastructures that rival those of mainstream retailers, but few have developed the same security culture.
Now Sweed, one of the leading retail-tech platforms in the industry, is trying to change that dynamic by launching cannabis’s first Bug Bounty program — a formal invitation for ethical hackers to test its defenses before criminals do.
A New Kind of Security Test
Announced November 10 and hosted on HackenProof, the initiative invites vetted security researchers from around the world to probe Sweed’s core web infrastructure.
The company will pay up to $2,000 for verified vulnerabilities, depending on their severity, following the same CVSS (Common Vulnerability Scoring System) standards used in mainstream tech.
All testing must stay within the defined scope and avoid disrupting live operations, but researchers are otherwise encouraged to “hack away.”
“Trust is earned, and by welcoming the security community into our process, we’re building software that grows stronger with every test,” said Rocco Del Priore, Sweed’s co-founder and CTO. “The Bug Bounty program helps us identify and fix potential vulnerabilities before they become issues — …
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Author: Rolando García / High Times
