Apple doubles security bounty to $2 million, with bonuses potentially increasing rewards to $5 million.

Apple has increased its highest security bounty to $2 million, with potential bonuses that could raise rewards to over $5 million for uncovering vulnerabilities. The company has already paid out over $35 million to more than 800 security researchers since 2020, with some individuals receiving rewards as high as $500,000. Apple's top award is for discovering sophisticated exploit chains, and there are additional bonuses for breaking into Lockdown Mode and finding vulnerabilities in beta software. Other tech companies like AMD, Intel, Microsoft, Meta, and Google also offer bug bounty programs with varying reward amounts. These programs incentivize security researchers to find and report vulnerabilities before they can be exploited by malicious actors, ultimately saving companies from potential reputational and financial harm.