As of March 2019, the PlayStation network had approximately 94 million active users making the PlayStation bug bounty program a necessity.
To continue offering “amazing experience” to its customers, Search Results Web results Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc. (SIE) has collaborated with HackerOne to launch a new PlayStation bug bounty program.
Through this program, Sony wants security researchers, gamers, users, and white hat hackers to hack into its system, recent consoles, and gaming accessories to identify low-risk, medium-risk, and high-risk bugs.
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Geoff Norton, Sony’s Senior Director of Software Engineering, announced the PlayStation bug bounty program. Norton explained that Sony is aiming to test security protections across the PlayStation Network (PSN), operating system, PlayStation 4 system (PS4), and other accessories.
The program does not involve previous versions of PlayStation consoles or third-party software/accessories. However, Sony may consider rewarding hackers who identify bugs in earlier versions of the operating system depending on the case and the vulnerability.
For detecting low-risk bugs Sony will be paying a participant $100 USD for PSN and $500 for PS4. For medium-risk bugs, the prize money would be $400 USD for PSN and $2,500 for PS$ bugs.
Furthermore, identification of high-risk bugs in PSN will fetch a hacker %1,000 USD and for PS4 the bounty will be $10,000. For critical bugs, hackers can expect to receive up to $3,000 USD for PSN and up to $50,000 for PS4.
In a blog post, Norton wrote that,
To date, we have been running our bug bounty program privately with some researchers. We recognize the valuable role that the research community plays in enhancing security, so we’re excited to announce our program for the broader community.
Here is a list of domains that are included in the PlayStation bug bounty program:
- .playstation.net
- .sonyentertainmentnetwork.com
- api.playstation.com
- my.playstation.com
- store.playstation.com
- social.playstation.com
- transact.playstation.com
- wallets.api.playstation.com
So far, the gaming giant has paid around $173,900 USD in bounties with an average of $400 USD per bounty whereas top bounties ranged between $2,500 USD and $40,000 USD.
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The company believes that through collaborating with the security research community it can ensure a safer place for users to play. The PlayStation bug bounty program updates will be available daily on PlayStation’s HackerOne page.
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