But you can’t just be any, run-of-the-mill hacker.
In order to score one of the bigger prizes at the annual Pwn2Own 733t hacker competition in Vancouver, Canada, you’re going to have to prove your hacking fortitude by finding security exploits in the Android, Symbian, Windows Mobile, BlackBerry and iPhone mobile operating systems.
With the flood of smartphones hitting the market these days, there’s a potential bonanza for nefarious mobile developers looking to hack your cellphone for their own gain. The iPhone has been targeted as a high-profile candidate for hackers looking to gain notoriety in hacking-circles, but other smartphone platforms are just as vulnerable to attack.
Pwn2Own is offering a whopping $10,000 prize to for each successful mobile phone exploit that is submitted and proven to work. Hackers will have to remotely dig their way into one of the mobile platforms mentioned above, using exploits based on “email, SMS text, website browsing and other general actions a normal user would take while using the device.” There is also a browser-exploit track at the competition, but it’s the mobile-related hackery that piques our interest.
Successful hackers will be allowed to keep the device that they hacked, including one year of cellular service. All successful security exploits will then be submitted to the appropriate vendor to help drive security advances and keep the general public just that much more secure from hackers.
If you think you have what it takes to hack your way into a mobile phone from afar, the Pwn2Own competition might be worth your time. Find out more here.
[Via: TheRegister]