Google will now pay up to $2,00,000 for finding bug in Android

Days after a malware called "Judy" hit over 36.5 million Android-based phones. Google has now increased the bounty for finding a bug in Android OS to as much as $2,00,000.

According to cyber security firm Check Point, dozens of malicious apps downloaded between 4.5 million to 18.5 million times. Some of the malware affected apps discovered residing on the online play store for several years.

Most security flaws about now affect old builds of the OS or require clever social engineering to get the user to weaken device security. The versions of Android released now are more secure. Inspite, Google was putting out years ago and as a result no one managed claim Google"s largest bug bounties for Android.

Bug Bounty program

Hoping to attract more researchers and engineers to the bug bounty programme. The company has increased the rewards to up to $2,00,000.  Google started the bug bounty programme for Android about two years ago. Security researchers, who demonstrate an exploit, get a cash prize the amount of which varies based on the severity of the hack.

Although, Google gets to fix the bug and avoid future security issues. No one has submitted a working exploit for Android"s core components.