Security firm is offering a $1 million bounty to anyone who manages to hack into an iPhone or iPad that runs on Apple's newest operating system, the iOS 9.
The initial response to this was that it sounds like Apple is encouraging hackers to hack into its devices in order to uncover loopholes. However, the firm that offered the $1 million bounty was not Apple.
Zerodium announced on Sept. 21 that it is willing to offer a hefty prize of $1 million to anyone who can provide the company with the hacking technique that can break into an iOS device. Any technique is accepted as long as it gets the job done, whether it is done remotely, a fake website, a malware hidden on an app or a text message. However, the catch is the payout cap is at $3 million.
The security company announced the bounty via its website claiming that due to improved security measures and effective exploit detection currently makes Apple iOS the most secure operating system in the mobile market.
The company added, "But don't be fooled, secure does not mean unbreakable, it just means that iOS has currently the highest cost and complexity of vulnerability exploitation and here's where the Million Dollar iOS 9 Bug Bounty comes into play."
Zerodium was founded by Chaouki Bekrar, a very popular figure in the zero-day hacking community. Before launching Zerodium in July, Bekrar is also the founder of another hacking firm called Vupen.
Bekrar has long publicized his practice of developing intrusion techniques especially against popular software, like iOS. However, instead of reporting the vulnerabilities to companies in order to create a fix, Bekrar sells his techniques and hacks to government agencies and other corporate customers, according to Wired.