September 29, 2016
The value for zero-day exploits targeting Apple’s iOS software is jumping. On Thursday, a company called Zerodium began offering as much as US $1.5 million for them.
Zerodium is the same company that offered $1 million last year for an exclusive iOS zero-day exploit that can remotely jailbreak a device. However, that bounty was only temporary, and it was eventually awarded last November.
Zerodium’s new $1.5 million bounty is asking for a remote jailbreak exploit targeting iOS 10. The bounty will be offered all year long, Chaouki Bekrar, the company’s CEO, said in an email. The company’s original offer was a maximum of $500,000.
In addition, Zerodium has also doubled the bounty for similar exploits for Google’s Android OS to a maximum of $200,000. The award amounts are subject to change depending on the exploits’ quality.
These zero-day exploits are valuable because they take advantage of software flaws in iOS and Android that even the vendors don’t know about. However, these flaws can also be difficult to find, given that both Apple and Google are constantly improving their software.