Draft:Hackmatrix

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HackMatrix
File:HackMatrix logo.svg
File:HackMatrix dashboard.png HackMatrix professional dashboard interface
Developer(s)	lightfox
Initial release	January 1, 2019 (2019-01-01)
Written in	PHP, JavaScript, SQL
Operating system	Cross-platform (Linux/Unix servers)
Platform	Web-based
Type	Bug bounty, vulnerability coordination, secure collaboration
License	Proprietary
Website	https://www.hackmatrix.org

HackMatrix is a professional-grade bug bounty platform and vulnerability coordination system designed to meet the demands of APT-level security professionals, red teams, and government entities. Launched in 2019 by an anonymous cybersecurity researcher known by the alias lightfox, HackMatrix offers free services nationwide to vetted government organizations and facilitates secure, high-impact reporting of zero-day vulnerabilities.

Overview

HackMatrix serves as a comprehensive coordination environment for responsible disclosure, integrating a secure submission framework, dynamic triage tools, and forensic-grade audit logging. Built on a hardened PHP backend and a TailwindCSS-driven UI, HackMatrix supports over 20,000 active users, including government CERTs, corporate security teams, and independent researchers.

The platform's mission is to establish a modern, scalable, and transparent ecosystem for vulnerability coordination — balancing operational security, privacy, and compliance with ease of use and professional design.

History

HackMatrix was conceptualized in 2018 and officially launched in early 2019. The founder, known only as lightfox, initiated the project after observing systemic inefficiencies in legacy vulnerability intake systems. Early beta deployments were made in secure sandboxed environments to test end-to-end encryption models, authentication gates, and real-time audit trails.

By 2021, the platform had reached production maturity and began onboarding government agencies under a free service model. HackMatrix now powers multiple private bug bounty initiatives, zero-day submission pipelines, and secure collaboration layers between organizations with national-level security responsibilities.

Technical Architecture

HackMatrix is engineered as a full-stack platform with layered security and service segmentation. Core components include:

• **Frontend**: TailwindCSS, HTML5, JavaScript, Alpine.js
• **Backend**: PHP 8.x, MySQL or PostgreSQL, Redis (optional), Celery (optional)
• **Infrastructure**: Apache2 (hardened), NGINX reverse proxy, Cloudflare WAF
• **Security features**:

 * Invite-only registration
 * Two-factor authentication (optional)
 * Session lockdowns and temporal access gates
 * Audit trail with cryptographic integrity
 * CSRF/XSS/SQLi hardened logic

HackMatrix supports CI/CD deployment pipelines and is compatible with modern Linux servers. All backend logic is modular and follows strict separation-of-concerns principles.

Core Features

Role-based Access Control

Users are segmented into roles:

• Admin
• Independent Researcher
• Company Representative
• Government Organization (GOV)

Each role is assigned access tiers with separate dashboards, capabilities, and submission tools. For example, `gov_dashboard.php` displays nation-level summary charts and threat visualizations, while `company_dashboard.php` emphasizes private program insights.

Secure Bug Submission

Submissions can include:

• Exploit payloads
• Attachments with structured metadata
• Suggested patches or PoCs
• Severity scoring and classification

All records are automatically hashed, time-stamped, and logged.

Zero-Day Lab

The dedicated `zeroday_lab.php` interface provides classified reporting for sensitive discoveries, available only to verified users through ephemeral access links. Additional protections include:

• Signal Protocol encryption (Double Ratchet)
• Time-boxed login sessions
• IP-limited access

Audit Logging

Every interaction (form submission, login, access request, privilege escalation) is recorded in an encrypted audit ledger. These logs are immutable and exportable for forensics.

Adoption and Impact

Since launch, HackMatrix has enabled the secure reporting of hundreds of critical vulnerabilities, including:

• ICS/SCADA protocol flaws
• Kernel-level buffer overflows
• Authentication bypasses in enterprise software

Numerous disclosures have been processed confidentially in collaboration with national agencies and private defense firms. HackMatrix is used by vetted APT groups under strict coordination and supports formal export pipelines for CVE/NVD registration.

Comparison with Other Platforms

Compared to HackerOne, Bugcrowd, and Intigriti, HackMatrix offers:

• Fully self-hosted deployments
• Total control over submission visibility
• Invite-only researcher admission
• Enhanced operational security for nation-state level reporting

Security Model

HackMatrix implements a trust-minimized security design:

• **Network layer protections**: WAF, geo-blocking, rate limits, NGINX proxying
• **Application layer controls**: CSRF tokens, anti-replay tokens, input whitelisting
• **Access control**: Role-bound capabilities, zero-trust initiation gates, and admin-signed timecodes
• **User verification**: Token-based onboarding, ephemeral identity bindings, and restricted login slots

Legal and Compliance

HackMatrix complies with industry-aligned standards such as:

• NIST 800-53 (moderate-level controls)
• OWASP Top 10 mitigation
• GDPR (data minimization for EU users)
• ISO/IEC 27001 (internal structure and auditing optional modules)

Visual and User Interface Design

HackMatrix employs a professional dark UI aesthetic, with accent gradients and color schema optimized for low-light analyst environments:

• **Base color**: `#0f172a`
• **Accent (Blue)**: `#3b82f6`
• **Highlight (Magenta)**: `#ec38bc`
• **Text**: `#f1f5f9`

All components are mobile-responsive and keyboard-navigable. Dashboards include real-time graphs, bug heatmaps, and sortable tables.

Future Roadmap

Planned features for upcoming releases include:

• Integration with CISA automated feeds
• GraphQL API for third-party dashboards
• Full support for anonymized Nym-based reporting
• Blockchain-linked CVE proofs-of-submission (research phase)

See Also

• Bug bounty program
• Advanced persistent threat
• Vulnerability disclosure
• Cyber threat intelligence
• Red team

External Links

• Official website
• Hackmatrix on GitHub