“Calling the initiative the Mobile Security Rewards Program, Samsung is asking members of the security community to look for vulnerabilities in any of the 38 Samsung mobile devices currently receiving regular security updates…”
Samsung is inviting hackers to take their best shot at its mobile devices, and will even pay them for it.
It’s not a boast, it’s a genuine invitation aimed at improving security. Calling the initiative the Mobile Security Rewards Program, Samsung is asking members of the security community to look for vulnerabilities in any of the 38 Samsung mobile devices currently receiving regular security updates, and in its software-based services including Samsung Pay, Samsung Pass, Samsung, Account, and Bixby, its new AI assistant.
As for the Rewards component of the program, the company says it will pay up to $200,000 in thanks for submissions, depending on the severity of the security flaws discovered and “the researcher’s ability to provide proof of concept”.
It’s another example of Samsung’s transparent approach to promoting the safety and security of its products after the company announced a new 8-Point Battery Safety Check component of its manufacturing process in response to the fire hazard issue of its aborted Note7 smartphone. And with Samsung now seeking to incorporate sophisticated user biometrics like iris scanning into more of its products and services, the issue of securing user data is evidently of growing importance to the company.
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