Apple challenges hackers: A million-dollar prize for the best code crackers

Apple presents itself as a technological pioneer and takes the protection of its server infrastructure extremely seriously. In an unprecedented move, the technology giant, valued at $3.5 trillion, challenges hackers worldwide to penetrate its technologies, offering a prize of up to one million dollars. This "Security Research Challenge" coincides with the launch of Apple's new AI-powered service "Apple Intelligence" as part of iOS 18.1. At the center is the so-called Private Cloud Compute (PCC) server. Apple thereby underscores the importance of protecting this server from cyberattacks, hacking attempts, and security breaches. In an assertive invitation, the company has invited both hobbyists and security experts globally to identify vulnerabilities in the PCC server. "Today we are making these resources publicly accessible to invite all security and privacy researchers—or anyone with interest and technical curiosity—to learn more about PCC and independently verify our claims," Apple stated. The rewards of the Apple Security Bounty program are now extended to the PCC server and include significant compensation for tips on security flaws. Thanks to a provided security guide, which describes both functionality and intrusion defenses, as well as portions of the source code on GitHub, the company grants researchers deep insight. Depending on the severity and scope of a discovered security issue, rewards can range from several hundred thousand to millions of dollars. Maximum amounts will be awarded for vulnerabilities that compromise user and request data outside the PCC security boundary, according to Apple. The company emphasized in a blog post that PCC is considered "the most advanced security architecture ever deployed for AI cloud computing at this scale." They look forward to continuously making the system more secure and private in collaboration with the research community.