In further proof of how Google continues to make internet more secure, the search giant has announced doubling up the Chromebook bug bounty reward to $100K. Now you ask how is that related to ‘Google getting more secured’? Well, the doubling up stems out from the fact that not even a single hacker globally, could crack into a Chromebook, resulting in Google giving more incentives to researchers to crack open a Chromebook wide open.
Google’s heavily-rewarding bug bounty programs have been here since 2010. And they are heavily rewarding, largely because it is coming from an internet giant like Google, which seldom makes an error on security front. In fact, the now Alphabet subsidiary has rewarded close to $6 Million in rewards ever since the program’s inception, with over $2 Million awarded just last year.
About the updated bug bounty program for Chromebook, Google says,
Last year we introduced a $50,000 reward for the persistent compromise of a Chromebook in guest mode. Since we introduced the $50,000 reward, we haven’t had a successful submission. That said, great research deserves great awards, so we’re putting up a standing six-figure sum, available all year round with no quotas and no maximum reward pool.
Yup, so there’s no maximum reward pool. That being said though, it is going to be extremely difficult for hackers to bring up a security loophole, largely because not even a single one of them has been able to do so till the launch of this specialised Chrome program.
Another update to the program is Google’s extension of the reward program scope to include rewards for methods that bypass Chrome’s Safe Browsing download protection features. There’s much more detail on this new category on the rewards page – be sure to take a look if you’re interested.
