If you can’t beat them, pay them.
This is probably Google’s motto when it comes tackling hackers.
In an effort to curb hacking, bugs and vulnerabilities, the search engine star is offering monetary rewards to those people to hack into its web services.
According to Google security team members Adam Mein and Michal Zalewski, “In just over a year, the program paid out around $460,000 to roughly 200 individuals. We’re confident beyond any doubt the program has made Google users safer.”
Hackers can get $20,000 for “qualifying vulnerabilities,” $10,000 for SQL injection and some information disclosure, authentification and authorization bypass bugs. They also pay $3,000 for XSS, XSRF and other flaws. Their biggest payment to an individual amounted to $3,133.70.
Google’s services are prone to attacks that can possibly get their members vital information. Zalewske and Mein added that bigger rewards are at stake for discovering chinks in the armor.
Since they launched the Vulnerability Reward Program last 2010, they have received over “780 qualifying vulnerability reports that span across the hundreds of Google-developed services.”
This program was designed to lure out potential hackers into getting their services rather than being their target.
Image Source: lh6.googleusercontent.com
