Ddos 
Apple has announced a major overhaul of its Security Bounty vulnerability reward program, set to take effect this November, with a substantial increase in payout ceilings—making it one of the most lucrative cybersecurity incentive programs in the industry.
Under the new framework, vulnerabilities capable of achieving “mercenary-grade spyware” effects—those enabling remote intrusion without any user interaction—will qualify for rewards of up to $2 million per case. Researchers who discover vulnerabilities affecting beta versions or capable of bypassing Lockdown Mode protections may earn as much as $5 million, the highest bounty in Apple’s history.
Beyond raising rewards for zero-click exploits, Apple has also restructured payouts across other categories of vulnerabilities. For instance, one-click exploit chains can now yield up to $1 million (up from $250,000), while proximity-based attacks—those requiring the attacker to be near the target device—have also risen to $1 million. Physical attacks involving direct device access and lock bypassing will now award $500,000, double the previous amount.
Researchers who successfully demonstrate web content code execution combined with sandbox escape can earn up to $300,000.
According to Ivan Krstić, Apple’s Vice President of Security Engineering and Architecture, the company has paid over $35 million in rewards to more than 800 security researchers since the program’s inception. Several high-value payouts have exceeded $500,000, though the top-tier awards remain exceptionally rare.
Apple noted that most system-level iOS attacks observed today originate from state-backed or government-affiliated mercenary spyware operators, targeting journalists, political figures, and human rights advocates through highly sophisticated and stealthy exploits.
To counter such threats, Apple continues to integrate advanced defense architectures such as Lockdown Mode and Memory Integrity Enforcement, designed to mitigate memory corruption and remote exploitation risks.
However, the company acknowledged that as offensive techniques grow increasingly complex, defense has become an ever-evolving challenge. By expanding the scope and rewards of its bounty program, Apple aims to attract more elite security researchers to examine critical attack surfaces and further fortify the defenses of iOS and macOS.
Since launching the bounty program publicly in 2019, Apple has gradually transitioned from an internal reporting model to a global collaboration with the security community. This latest revision represents not only a dramatic financial enhancement but also a reaffirmation of Apple’s commitment to redefining its cybersecurity front line in the age of AI.
In an era of escalating digital threats, Apple hopes that offering such generous incentives will draw more white-hat hackers to its cause—strengthening security from an attacker’s perspective. For the broader industry, this move signifies not just a corporate defense upgrade, but a meaningful investment in the cybersecurity ecosystem as a whole.
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