Google raises bounty to $100,000 for hacking its Chromebook

Google has doubled its “jackpot” for any hacker who can crack one of its Chromebooks. The top prize now stands at $100,000 after no one managed to successfully hack the laptops the last round.

The winner will have to compromise a Chromebook or Chromebox in guest mode with device persistence. In other words, to grab the reward, a hacker must crack a Chromebook while it is in a locked-down state and it should remain hacked after a reboot.

The tech giant added a “download protection bypass bounty” for anyone who uncovers ways to skirt Chrome’s Safe Browsing download protection features.

“We look forward to seeing some amazing bugs and continuing to work with the security research community,” Google said in a statement. 

Since 2010, Google has been asking people to find chinks in the armor of their security systems for Chromebooks, the Chrome browser and Chrome OS and has been serious about rewarding the winners.

READ MORE: Google Wanted: $1 million to hack Chrome

In 2015 alone, it paid researchers more than $2 million for making “Google users safer.” In the six years of Google’s Security Reward Program, over $6 million have been awarded to hackers worldwide.

In 2012, the IT giant offered hackers a reward of up to $1 million for pinpointing vulnerabilities in its Chrome browser.