If you know how to hack a phone, or know someone who does, you may want to listen up, because Apple is stepping up their cybersecurity game with a new “bug bounty” that’s going to give hackers the opportunity to earn up to $1,000,000 if they can find security hacks.
According to the article which revealed this insane incentive, Forbes, this offer sits as the highest “bug bounty” offer from any major tech company in the game.As well as iPhones, they’re also opening extending the offer to include their Mac computers.
In terms of just what is exactly they expect from you to earn that milly, the researchers (hackers) who are able to hack the core of iOS without any clicks required, will go home a million dollars richer. Allegedly, it’ll be announced later this week, at the Black Hat security conference in Las Vegas,that Apple will be giving these “security researchers” special iPhones that will make it easier for them to find faults in the smartphone.
This offer comes after 18-year-old Linus Henze found a bug in macOS that allowed him to spy on passwords back in February, but refused to tell Apple just how he did it, as they declined to pay him for his information. Principal security researcher at Jamf – who’s found more than a few issues within the macOS – has said that “if you’re a large, well-resourced company such as Apple, who claims to place a premium on security, having a bug-bounty program is a no brainer.” He continues explain how “such a program highly encourages talented external security researchers to audit Apple’s hardware and software products, which will result in many vulnerabilities being uncovered and reported to Apple.
End result: Apple’s products will become largely more secure. Sure this is a win for Apple, but ultimately this a huge win for Apple’s end users.”
