New Google Security Reward Program Announcement

jones_supa writes Since 2010, Security Reward Programs have been one cornerstone of Google's relationship with the security research community. In 2014, the company rewarded 200 different researchers with a total amount of $1.5 million. Google wants to celebrate the participants' contributions to the company, and in turn, their contributions back to the researchers. For 2015, two additions to the programs are being announced. It has been noted that researchers' efforts through these programs, combined with Google's internal security work, have made it increasingly difficult to find bugs. Of course, that's good news, but it can also be discouraging when researchers invest their time and struggle to find issues. With this in mind, today Google is rolling out a new, experimental program: Vulnerability Research Grants. These are up-front awards that will be provided to researchers before they even submit a bug. To learn more about the current grants, and review your eligibility, have a look at the rules page. Second, also starting today, all mobile applications officially developed by Google on Google Play and iTunes will now be within the scope of the Vulnerability Reward Program.