Facebook Launches Program: Find A Bug, Make Some Cash

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Interesting news comes out of Facebook today, especially if you’re the type to go hunting for bugs. They’re offering a fat wad of cash to anyone who can bring them proof of security holes in their systems, and the value of digging up a flaw in their security is surprisingly robust.

The reward for finding a hole in Facebook’s systems starts at $500, and has no maximum cap, so the more (and more pronounced) flaws you find, the more cash you can pull down. There are some important caveats here, though: the first thing is that you’ll need to agree to the Facebook Responsible Disclosure Policy, and on top of that, you’ll have to keep mum about the flaw you found and not go telling the media until after Facebook actually fixes the issue.

Before this, there was actually much less incentive for most folks who found bugs. Usually their silence would be rewarded with Facebook swag and a nod on the Facebook Whitehat page, and in some rare cases, a job offer. But now, finding bugs can be a cottage industry, assuming there are that many to be found. Facebook is even allowing for the establishment of test accounts so that the search doesn’t impede regular users.

This is probably the best way to go about it; considering the growing number of hacking attacks from groups like Anonymous (and its recently absorbed subsidiary Lulzsec), it’s worth a bit of cash to keep the hacking community from going hogwild and attempting to take down a site. Offering cash payouts (and of course the possibility of more permanent employment) in exchange for silence sufficient to fix the holes and keep some serious malefactors out of the game is a win-win for Facebook. Plus, it’s been successfully done at plenty of other tech firms from Google to Microsoft.

So what do you guys think here? Is Facebook making the right move by offering up cash rewards to those who find bugs? Or is the reward insufficient against the opportunity for serious mayhem to the hacking community? No matter what you think about this, head on down to the comments section and let us know what you think!