4th Pwn2Own 2010 Contest Ups Total Cash Prize Amount to 100K
The TippingPoint Zero Day Initiative (ZDI) has announced that the Pwn2Own contest will be held this year at the CanSecWest security conference in Vancouver, starting with the 24th of March. Participants in the contest will get a cash prize and other benefits if they manage to exploit a target.
“This year the competition will have two main technology targets. In keeping with tradition the first portion of the event will attempt to bring to light the current security posture of market-leading web browser and operating system pairings. The second portion of Pwn2Own 2010 offers bounties for vulnerabilities affecting mobile phones. The increased presence and capabilities of smart phones has brought with it the same security issues and attention traditionally reserved for non hand-held platforms,” explained Aaron Portnoy, researcher within TippingPoint's security research group.
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How much money can you expect to get if you’re successful? To celebrate the contest’s 4th anniversary the total cash prize amount has been upped to $100,000. Out of that total amount, $40,000 is allotted to the web browser portion of the contest. For each successfully exploited target, a cash prize of $10,000 will be awarded. The amount of money allotted to the mobile contest is of $60,000. For each successfully exploited target, a cash prize of $15,000 will be awarded.
The Pwn2Own contest will kick off on the 24th of March and will last for 3 days. During this time the browser and mobile contest will run in parallel. Participants in the contest will have a 30 minute slot to successfully exploit a target. To have a slot assigned, you need to register by sending an email to ZDI@tippingpoint.com
For the browser contest the targets will be:
IE8, Firefox 3 and Chrome 4 on Windows 7, Vista and XP.
Safari 4 on Snow Leopard.
For the mobile contest the targets will be:
Apple iPhone 3GS
RIM Blackberry Bold 9700
A Nokia device running Symbian S60, presumably the E62
A Motorola phone running Android, presumably the Droid
The TippingPoint Zero Day Initiative (