Hunters most often choose Bug Bounty Programs based on bounty ranges, a preference for private programs and programs with a reputation for prompt, fair responses, according to The YesWeHack Report 2026.
Krevetk0, however, says he has a more altruistic motive.
The hunter, whose real name is Valeriy Shevchenko, kindly took time out from a live hacking event at Nullcon Berlin to share his Bug Bounty story and hacking advice with YesWeHack.
As well as how he chooses scopes, the Berlin-based hacker explains how he became a hunter, what he enjoys most about hacking, and his most impactful vulnerability discovery so far.
krevetk0 has also appeared on the Critical Thinking Bug Bounty podcast, discussing program management, anchor programs and theft in Bug Bounty.
Krevetk0 on how he became a hacker…
I started my career in IT as a quality assurance guy. I tested the software for business logic, for some misalignments. And then I just recognised that some parts of my work might be in the backlog for a very long time – and it’s a strange feeling when you [feel like you] worked for nothing.
So I decided to bring something impactful and valuable, and started doing some testing for vulnerabilities, and that’s how I started in the security field.
On what he enjoys most about Bug Bounty…
I really enjoy the ability to work with different teams. You just hack naturally, find something interesting, curious, and you can work with the team without being an official part of the team – which is cool, because it’s a broad range of companies you can work with.
On choosing his hunting targets…
I usually choose the target based on the company. I prefer to find companies that have some value for society – some healthcare companies, some banks…
I feel the value of my work when I get great results with great vulnerability exposure. Then the company patches this and I feel like not only valuable from the reward perspective, but from the social perspective.
On his best bug find to date…
There have been a lot, and when I thought about this, I was like: “Damn, it's really hard to remember!” Because day by day, I’m finding a lot of interesting and critical bugs.
But I think the most memorable was the first one, a critical one that I found at a well-known brand. It [could lead to attackers gaining] unauthorised access to the confidential data of sportsmen’s emergency contacts, [including] their addresses. Those sportsmen were sponsored by a big company, and it was the list of [their names] with personally identifiable information.
I was really surprised to see this data and that vulnerability embedded on the application.
On the hackers that most inspire him…
I got my inspiration from the hackers on top of the leaderboard.
I might highlight Cosmin (inhibitor181) and Damian (damian_89_) from the German community. They gave me huge inspiration to be on the level that they are on now. It was kind of a gamification for me to participate with them virtually and try to get a leaderboard position in different programs where they hacked.
On his hobbies outside of hacking…
My hobbies are surfing, running, skateboarding, snowboarding, roller skating… Yeah, there’s many things. I'm trying to be on that stage and keep my health in great condition!
On his top tip for new or inexperienced hackers…
I think the best tip is to be curious – to be curious to continue growing, learning day by day. Because the technology is growing, it’s rapidly growing, and it’s important to be curious and to stay curious to learn more and more.
