Security News > 2020 > September > Google Increases Bug Bounty Payouts for Abuse Risk Flaws
Google this week increased the reward amounts paid to researchers for reporting abuse risk as part of its bug bounty program.
Google added product abuse risks to its Vulnerability Reward Program two years ago and says that more than 750 such issues have been identified since.
The Internet giant notes that the final reward amount that a researcher will be awarded for their findings "Remains at the discretion of the reward panel." Both the severity of the issue and the number of impacted users are taken into consideration when evaluating the impact of an abuse risk.
Google also said that it is considering expanding the scope of Vulnerability Research Grants to support research aimed at the prevention of abuse risks, but that specific details on the matter will be shared at a later date.
Google points out that, while the nature of product abuse is changing in line with advances in technology, it is mainly interested in research aimed at protecting users' privacy and ensuring the integrity of Google's technologies, in addition to preventing financial fraud or other types of harm.