What is a Responsible Disclosure Policy and Why You Need One

**Executive summary:** This article provides guidance on Vulnerability Disclosure Policies (VDPs), defining their purpose, the five critical elements (promise, scope, safe harbor, process, preferences), submission options (email forwarding, embedded forms, public policy page), best practices including legal safe-harbor language, examples from Dropbox and HackerOne, adoption statistics, and government/industry guidance; it is educational material rather than a report of an active security incident.