Trend Micro’s Zero Day Initiative (ZDI) is a program designed to reward security researchers for responsibly disclosing vulnerabilities.

Core values

- **Responsible Disclosure and Vulnerability Management**: The ZDI encourages the responsible disclosure of zero-day vulnerabilities, which helps protect users from potential exploits by giving vendors time to patch the vulnerabilities. This approach has significantly reduced the time vendors take to remediate vulnerabilities, from over 180 days to less than 120 days[3].
- **Industry Leadership**: The ZDI is responsible for a substantial portion of all publicly disclosed vulnerabilities, with nearly 64% of all vulnerabilities disclosed in 2021 attributed to the ZDI[5].
- **Community Engagement and Skill Development**: The program fosters a community of skilled researchers, providing them with financial incentives and recognition, which helps in developing and retaining cybersecurity talent[2][3].
- **Enhanced Security**: By creating a "white market" for vulnerabilities, the ZDI reduces the likelihood of these vulnerabilities being sold on the dark web, thereby decreasing the risk of malicious attacks[1].