With the upcoming release of Windows 8.1 Public Preview due in roughly seven days, Microsoft is already looking for someone to find an exploit in the upcoming update for Windows 8. As a matter of fact, Microsoft will pay you up to $100,000 USD if you can find an exploit in Windows 8.1 Public Preview upon its release June 26th.
“Microsoft will pay up to $100,000 USD for truly novel exploitation techniques against protections built into the latest version of our operating system (Windows 8.1 Preview). Learning about new exploitation techniques earlier helps Microsoft improve security by leaps, instead of capturing one vulnerability at a time as a traditional bug bounty alone would,” Microsoft stated on the company’s official security response website.
Microsoft is also offering up to $50,000 USD for “defensive ideas that accompany a qualifying Mitigation Bypass submission” as well as up to $11,000 USD for “critical vulnerabilities” that affect Internet Explorer 11 Preview, which comes with Windows 8.1 Public Preview.
This new bounty program is Microsoft’s attempt in providing the best possible computing experience by ensuring the upcoming update to the company’s operating system is secure. If you have what it takes, snag the Windows 8.1 Preview on June 26th and help Microsoft help all of us by finding vulnerabilities, exploitation techniques, and even offer a defensive solution if you can!