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Zerodium Ups iOS Bug Bounty to $1.5M

The same firm made headlines last year when it offered $1 million for unknown iPhone and iPad flaws.

 & Angela Moscaritolo Managing Editor, Consumer Electronics

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Looking to make some serious cash? Grab an iPhone and start hacking.

The somewhat controversial security start-up Zerodium, which buys and sells zero-day (aka unknown) software exploits, has increased its permanent bug bounty for iOS flaws to $1.5 million.

The firm made headlines last year when it offered $1 million for unknown iPhone and iPad flaws. Zerodium ended up cutting that $1 million bounty in half after paying for three qualifying submissions, but now the reward is back up and higher than ever.

If iOS hacking isn't your thing, the company also this week increased bounties for Android and Flash flaws. Zerodium is now paying double — or $200,000 — for Android bugs and $80,000 for Flash vulnerabilities (up from $50,000).

Zerodium founder Chaouki Bekrar told Ars Technica the new prices reflect today's tightened security landscape. "Prices are directly linked to the difficulty of making a full chain of exploits, and we know that iOS 10 and Android 7 are both much harder to exploit than their previous versions," he told Ars.

Apple launched a bug bounty program of its own just last month, offering hackers up to $200,000 to identify vulnerabilities in its products. Google has offered bug bounties for some time, but its prices, too, are only a fraction of Zerodium's million-dollar-plus payday.

As Ars notes, however, getting a bounty from Zerodium requires a lot more work, since the company is seeking so-called "weaponized" exploits, which give an attacker full control over a targeted device, not just rough proof-of-concept code. It's also worth mentioning that not everyone is a fan of Bekrar, who has a history of selling exploits to the highest bidder, rather than disclosing issues to the manufacturer.

About Our Expert

Angela Moscaritolo

Angela Moscaritolo

Managing Editor, Consumer Electronics

My Experience

I'm PCMag's managing editor for consumer electronics, overseeing an experienced team of analysts covering smart home, home entertainment, wearables, fitness and health tech, and various other product categories. I have been with PCMag for more than 10 years, and in that time have written more than 6,000 articles and reviews for the site. I previously served as an analyst focused on smart home and wearable devices, and before that I was a reporter covering consumer tech news. I'm also a yoga instructor, and have been actively teaching group and private classes for nearly a decade. 

Prior to joining PCMag, I was a reporter for SC Magazine, focusing on hackers and computer security. I earned a BS in journalism from West Virginia University, and started my career writing for newspapers in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.

The Technology I Use

My little Florida beach bungalow is brimming with smart home tech. I have a smart speaker or display in every room, allowing me to control other connected devices by voice. The Nest Hub on my bedside table lets me set wake-up alarms, control my smart light bulbs, and set the temperature on my smart thermostat. I use the Amazon Echo Show 8 on my kitchen counter to browse recipes, reorder protein powder, check the weather, and watch the news while I do dishes. 

Because I suffer from allergies, air purifiers are essential. My favorite model is the Dyson Purifier Cool TP07, which doubles as a fan and continuously sends indoor pollution data to its companion mobile app. 

My pitbull Bradley sheds, so a good robot vacuum is a must. I currently use a premium Ecovacs Deebot that can both vacuum and mop, empty its own dustbin, and wash its own mop cloth. 

For fitness, I like to mix up my routine with cycling, indoor rowing, running, and strength training in addition to yoga. I take classes on the Tonal 2 smart strength training machine, I row indoors on an Aviron machine, and track my beach runs with an Apple Watch while listening to music on my Apple AirPods Pro. On the weekends, I love riding e-bikes like the rugged, beach-friendly Aventon Aventure for fun and fitness.

My job involves a lot of virtual meetings, so a quality webcam, microphone, and ring light are important. I use the Jabra PanaCast 20 webcam, the Elgato Wave: 3 microphone, and a Yesker tripod ring light. 

As for my preferred phone platform, I'm an iPhone person, but I've also extensively used Android for product testing.

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