Belgian Researcher Wins $157K From Meta for Sectricity-Led AI-Assisted Security Research
May 27, 2026
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Preben Ver Eecke, Lead Ethical Hacker at Belgian cybersecurity company Sectricity, has reported a serious vulnerability through Meta’s Bug Bounty program. The report was submitted responsibly through the appropriate procedure and was handled and quickly resolved by Meta. For his research, Preben received an award of 157,000 USD.
This recognition underlines the importance of in-depth security research and of safe, clear procedures for responsibly reporting vulnerabilities. Sectricity’s approach is human expertise augmented by AI. As a research aid, AI helped Preben investigate and validate the issue more efficiently.
Preben was also on stage at MBBRC 2026 (Meta Bug Bounty Researcher Conference) in Taipei, attended by international security researchers and members of the ethical hacking community.
For security reasons, no further technical details about the vulnerability will be disclosed.
“I reported the vulnerability through the official channel and only took the steps needed to responsibly demonstrate its impact,” says Preben Ver Eecke. “Ultimately, nearly every organisation is vulnerable at some point. What matters is how responsive it is and whether it takes the right course of action when it matters.”
Sectricity welcomed the recognition. “We are very proud of Preben and of the international recognition he is receiving,” Yves Van Tongerloo says. “This case shows the importance of technical depth, discipline and responsible conduct within offensive security. At Sectricity we work human-driven, with AI as a research aid under human oversight and validation. We apply that same approach every day in penetration testing, cloud security assessments and red teaming assignments for our clients.”
About Sectricity
Sectricity, headquartered in Merelbeke-Melle, helps organisations in Belgium, the Netherlands and across Europe with penetration testing, red teaming, social engineering and security awareness, and provides practical guidance on cyber resilience. The company helps organisations find, validate and fix vulnerabilities before malicious hackers can abuse them.
