Google doubled its cash reward for those who will find security bugs on its Pixel smartphones, along with the new additions: Google Nest smart home devices, as well as Fitbit wearables.
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Google Doubles Reward for Security Bugs Program
As per a news story by Android Police, the Vulnerability Rewards Program of Google, which is shortly called VRP, is raising the incentives for those who would report any security bugs on its supported devices.
The search engine tech giant announced that it is doubling the rewards for folks who will report security bugs starting today, which will continue for the next six months.
On top of that, Google is also increasing its incentives for security bug reports of the devices included in its rewards program.
However, according to a recent report by Android Headlines, the tech giant did not disclose how much its incentives are security bug hunters. Instead, Google only confirmed that the payouts for the rewards program are getting increased.
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The announcement stated that the rewards for this year will be higher than what was given away in 2021.
Previously, the security reward program of the search engine giant gave rewards to those who reported vulnerabilities in its software.
The tech giant has already included one of its products, Google Pixel phones, in the security program.
But this time around, Google is also adding support to more of its first-party devices, such as some of its Google Nest smart home devices and select Fitbit smartwatches.
The Vulnerability Rewards Program of Google recently celebrated its first ten years since its launch.
There were tons of fancy updates to celebrate its first decade, such as a new look and features for its website, including leaderboards and tutorials.
Android Police noted in its report that the rewards that Google has been distributing for VRP have gradually increased through the years.
To be more precise, way back in 2015, the tech giant only gave away $2 million. But in 2019, it has already skyrocketed to a whopping $6.5 million.
In the next year, in 2020, it slightly jumped to $6.7 million. In 2021, Google gave a total reward to the tune of $8.7 million.
Now that the tech giant is also including Google Nest and Fitbit devices, as well as the increased incentives, it is bound to significantly increase in 2022.
