Sony offering to pay hackers up to $50k for finding PlayStation security flaws

Sony has began a public PlayStation Bug Bounty for skilled hackers to help the company discover large security flaws within PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Network. 

The Bug Bounty has been created in partnership with HackerOne, a security exploit company created by hackers to help craft a safer internet experience for everyone.

“To date, we have been running our bug bounty program privately with some researchers. We recognize the valuable role that the research community plays in enhancing security, so we’re excited to announce our program for the broader community,” announced Sony.

At the time of writing, Sony has already paid out a sizable $174,000 to hackers with an average bounty reward of $400. However, depending on the severity of the discovered exploit, PlayStation will pay more.

Sony asks that participating bug hunters only look for exploits in the current or beta versions of PlayStation hardware, stating: “For the PlayStation 4 system, accessories and operating system, we will accept submissions on the current released or beta version of system software.”