21. The computer system of claim 12 , the storage media comprising sequences of instructions which when executed cause: validating the particular security vulnerability by re-performing, on a target computer of the particular network under test, one or more operations that are identified in the report; providing a validated report of the security vulnerability to an administrator computer that is associated with the particular network under test.
12. A data processing system comprising: a first computer that is communicatively coupled to a plurality of networks under test, an automated scanning system and a vulnerability database, and that is logically interposed in a network topology between the plurality of networks under test and a distributed plurality of researcher computers; one or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media in the first computer storing one or more sequences of instructions which when executed cause performing: inviting, using the first computer, a distributed plurality of researchers to participate in one or more computer vulnerability research projects directed to identifying computer vulnerabilities of one or more networks and/or computers that are owned or operated by a third party, wherein a first computing device and a second computing device are associated with different researchers respectively among the plurality of researchers; determining a respective expertise of the researchers of the distributed plurality of researchers; publishing, using the first computer, to researchers having the respective expertise of the distributed plurality of researchers, a taxonomy of potential computer vulnerabilities, wherein each particular computer vulnerability in the taxonomy is associated with a range of award values; monitoring, by a second computer that is communicatively coupled to a particular computing device of a particular researcher among the distributed plurality of researchers and a network under test among the one or more networks and/or computers, communications between the particular computing device of the particular researcher and the particular network under test, wherein the communications relate to attempting to identify a candidate security vulnerability of the particular network under test; in response to a report of the candidate security vulnerability of the particular network under test that is received from the particular computing device of the particular researcher, and based upon the taxonomy, determining and providing a particular award value to the particular researcher.