In a move that's sure to attract bored hackers and unemployed software professionals, Google has substantially raised the maximum reward given to people who find security flaws in the Chromium web browser. The increase comes only days after Mozilla refreshed its Security Bug Bounty Program, which now pays $3,000 for bugs found in the organization's Firefox desktop browser, Thunderbird email client, as well as its mobile browser and other services the products rely on.
Not to be outdone, Google has upped its max payout to a more cryptic $3,133.70. That rate will apply to vulnerabilities deemed "critical" and reflects the fact that the sandbox makes it harder to find bugs of that severity. The search giant's base reward for less serious flaws will remain at $500, which is still a decent chunk of change if you enjoy uncovering exploits. You can find a "hall of fame" list of previous bugs as well as information about submitting your own discoveries here.