For parentsOct 14, 2026

# Why week 0 is about permission

[Josh [FACT: surname]](https://bugclubhq.com/about)

Instructor

![](https://bugclubhq.com/assets/site/blog/week-zero-permission-044fc7bc.svg)

Parents ask me the same question on the first call, usually a little nervously: is this teaching my kid to hack things? Fair question. It teaches them to find security bugs in places they're allowed to look, and then to report them properly. The "allowed to look" part comes first, and it gets a whole week.

## What the week covers

Week 0 is self-paced, so there's no live session. Your kid reads five short pieces whenever suits them before week 1:

- Ethics 101: permission before access, the practice labs only, never a real site.
- How bug bounties work: who pays, what responsible disclosure means, and the difference between a hacker and a hacker with permission.
- Why they don't need to code, just think.
- A tour of BugClub HQ.
- "Never trust the user," the idea that comes back every week after.

Then they file their first bug report on a simple, simulated find, with the course walking them through every step. That earns the First Bug badge and the title Cadet.

## The agreement

Week 1 stays locked until your kid signs the ethics agreement, and so do you. It's in plain words, and you can [read the whole thing](https://bugclubhq.com/ethics) now, before you apply. Every lab after that opens with its rules and what's in scope, and everything they test lives inside BugClub HQ. The practice shops, the fake companies and the "sent" emails never touch anything real.

The one exception is week 5, when students look up what's public about themselves, and only with a guardian's opt-in. Without it, they use a sample profile.

## Why I care this much

I went to federal prison for internet piracy. I know exactly where the line is because I've been on the wrong side of it, and I'd like your kid to never find out what that's like. That's the whole reason week 0 exists, and why it comes before any bug.

It's the least technical week of the course. I think it's the most important one.

Written by

[FACT: headshot]

Josh [FACT: surname]

Instructor

[FACT: one-line background]

[More about Josh](https://bugclubhq.com/about)