Google offers $3M to hack Chrome OS through Pwnium 4

Google Inc. has also announced to award a total of $2.7 million to anyone who could expose a security bug in Chrome OS as well as Chrome browser at its upcoming Pwnium 4 competition.

The Mountain View, California based tech giant said it will hold a contest called "Pwnium" in March, in which hackers can put their skills to the test by trying to hack into either the HP Chromebook 11 or the Acer C720 Chromebook.

Pwnium 4, as the challenge is affectionately known, will allow contestants to choose to hack Intel or ARM-powered laptops as they attempt to hack Chrome OS. 

To qualify, winners must be able to provide the code they used to get the job done as well as point out the vulnerabilities they found while working. Seeing as last year Google planned on paying out a whopping total of $3.14159 million and only had to pay out $40,000 it's not likely much of this prize money is actually going to go out. 

The company said it will pay out prizes of US$110,000 and US$150,000. In total, it will pay US$2.71828 million, which is a reference to the mathematical constant e, a concept that's important to know when writing algorithms.

To earn the US$110,000 payouts, hackers will have to compromise Chrome OS through a Web page. For the US$150,000 prize, hackers will have to compromise the computers so thoroughly through a Web page that the machine is still under their control even after it has been rebooted.

Google has really upped the ante for this year’s Pwnium competition. Last year, there was one successful attack. It was pulled off by a hacker named PinkePie and he took home $40,000. That’s a nice payout, to be sure, but peanuts compared to this year’s prizes. As if the thought of winning $150,000 isn’t enough to get security pros’ motivated, remembering that PinkiePie successfully compromised Chrome OS will help, too.

Participants have their choice of targets this year. In previous Pwniums, the only targets available were Intel-based Chromebooks. This time around both HP’s ARM-based Chromebook 11 and the Acer C720 will be placed in harm’s way.