If You Find Xbox Live Vulnerabilities, Microsoft Will Pay You
Microsoft has officially launched a bug bounty program for hackers who can find vulnerabilities in Xbox Live, paying up to $20,000 for reports. Hackers who want to send in a submission regarding Xbox Live will have to include reproducible steps in order to claim a reward. There are vulnerabilities that are exempt from the bug bounty program, such as URL Redirects and DDoS issues. The payout for these submissions depends on the severity of the security vulnerability and rewards start at $500. Xbox Live Gold costs Microsoft fans $9.99 a month or $59.99 per year and gives them access to some free games each month in exchange.
Security holes that leave the Xbox Live network vulnerable to attacks can earn researchers up to $5,000, so in some cases a bug bounty program actually saves companies money. Remote code execution exploits apparently pay the most, between $10,000 to $20,000. This type of big money offered in a bug bounty program gives hackers incentive to work with major companies such as Microsoft and it will benefit Xbox Live’s security going into the next generation of consoles.
Microsoft is running several bug bounty programs across several products and services right now and coders are recommended to check out their website for the program right here. This is a great way to bring the Microsoft community together in an effort to repair the infrastructure in a way that’s mutually beneficial. Many people take their hackers to court, but Microsoft wants to pay them before someone with malicious intent comes after their products and services.
Are you a coder that’s going to participate in the bug bounty program? Which companies can you think of that would benefit from a bug bounty program? Let us know in the comments below!
Source: engadget