Microsoft has announced it will be rewarding hackers that can find flaws in Windows 8.1 and Internet Explorer 11 with cash prizes as high as US$50,000 through its Bug Bounty Program.
The programme has three tiers – the Mitigation Bypass Bounty, the Bluehat Bonus for Defense and the IE11 Preview Bug Bounty.
Katie Moussoris, a senior security strategist at Microsoft, said the programmes show the company is ready to proactively identify and resolve issues before they become serious problems.
Chris Wysopal, the co-founder and chief technological officer (CTO) of Veracode and an expert in security and vulnerability research, believes the programmes represent an attempt by Microsoft to make hackers work with and not against the company.
“I think one of the biggest benefits of bug bounty programs is to engage the security research community to work with you and not against you,” Wysopal said.
