Calling all hackers. Google is handing out the big bucks.
Yesterday, the tech giant behemoth announced plans for its fourth
annual hackathon (called Pwnium 4: "Pwn,"the act of breaking into a
computer and owning it, + "ium," a play on the full name for Google
Chrome: Chromium) which will take place in Vancouver this March.
Prize money totals exactly $2.71828 million, "the mathematical constant e
for the geeks at heart," Google explained. A grand prize of $150,000
will be awarded for Chrome OS exploits that "compromise with device
persistence: guest to guest with interim reboot, delivered via webpage"
i.e. a breach that allows a hacker to control a Chrome OS PC after it
reboots. Prizes of $110,000 will be given to those who discover other
major holes in the Chrome OS operating system.
"Security is a core tenet of Chromium, which is why we hold regular
competitions to learn from security researchers. Contests like Pwnium
help us make Chromium even more secure," Jorge Lucángeli Obes, Security
Engineer at Google and the "Master of Ceremonies," wrote in a post.
Google's hackathon announcement comes days after allegations that a Chrome hack allowed websites to eavesdrop on users.
Despite the central purpose of the event, it won't all be cyber
security seriousness. This year, for the first time, Google will reward
creative or surprising hacks with "bonuses," usefulness aside.
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