Google Is Offering $200K To Hack Android Phones Using Email and A Phone Number (thenextweb.com)

Google is feeling so confident about the security of their latest Android 7.0 Nougat operating system that they're offering $200,000 to anyone who can remotely execute code on a Nexus 6P or 5X running Android 7.0. The Next Web reports: Today, Google is launching the Project Zero Security Contest and awarding over $300,000 in prizes to anyone who can hack Nexus 6P and 5X knowing only the devices' phone number and email address. To be eligible to win, contestants are required to dig up vulnerabilities that can be exploited remotely -- by sending a text message or an email, for instance. All winning participants will be invited to describe the bugs they've discovered in a short technical report that will appear on the Project Zero Blog. The winner will scoop $200,000, while the runner-up will receive $100,000. There's also another $50,000 in the prize pool for any additional winning entries.

Comments

I doubt it's about "confidence"

[93 Escort Wagon]

Google is feeling so confident about the security of their latest Android 7.0 Nougat operating system that they're offering $200,000 to anyone who can remotely execute code on a Nexus 6P or 5X running Android 7.0.

I suspect this has more to do with trying to proactively find any such vulnerability - and making it pay off well enough to induce the hacker to give Google the info rather than selling it to criminal or state organizations. Selling it privately might still bring in more money, but this might be enough so the hacker will say "this way I still get a good payday and also get credit for doing the right thing".

Seems like it would be worth way more than $200K

[JoeyRox]

I'd put the value of that kind of exploit north of $20M. Biggest buyer would be governments around the world.