Find a bug and you get a chance to win $250,000

Microsoft has now expanded its bug bounty program to Windows 10, with the company stating that they are willing to pay up to $250,000 to security researchers who discover vulnerabilities in its operating system.

The Windows 10 bug bounty also includes rewards which range between $500 and $250,000. It however depends on the degree of complexity of the security vulnerability which is discovered and the amount of information provided to the company — eg. Submissions with proofs or concepts are paid more.

The aim of this program is to target any critical or important class remote execution, elevation of privilege, or design flaws in the Windows 10 operating system which can be used by attackers to compromise the security and privacy of a device, Microsoft has explained.

This means everyone finding such a bug is eligible for a bounty, but the software giant explains that if someone has already discovered the bug which has been reported internally, only 10 per cent of the highest amount which they could have received would be paid.

“All security bugs are important to us and we request you report all security bugs,” the company explains.