Sony has paid a security researcher $50,000 under its Bug Bounty program for finding a critical flaw in the PlayStation system. The recipient of the payment has already joked that he will now definitely have enough money to buy the upcoming GTA 6.
Sony has paid a security researcher $50,000 under its Bug Bounty program for finding a critical flaw in the PlayStation system. The recipient of the payment has already joked that he will now definitely have enough money to buy the upcoming GTA 6.
Researcher Jordy (known under the nickname 2tonejordy on the HackerOne platform) confirmed receiving the payment on his X social media account.
"I think I can at least buy GTA 6 with that," the hacker commented ironically.
According to HackerOne's program regulations, the maximum amount of $50,000 is paid exclusively for critical exploits (the highest threat level). The details and technical details of the vulnerability found are not disclosed at this time for security reasons.
According to Sony's payout history on HackerOne, this is only the second time in the last three years that a researcher has received the maximum reward for a critical-level find, Dexerto reports .
Jordi's name was already in the spotlight of the IT community in September of this year due to the controversy surrounding the PS5 hypervisor.
At the time, another well-known hacker and researcher, Andy 'TheFlow' Nguyen, was developing a solution to fully run Linux on PlayStation 5 consoles (including future plans for the PS5 Pro in 2027). Nguyen asked his colleagues to wait to disclose the vulnerability until GTA 6 was released so that players could officially purchase the game while still being able to use Linux.
However, Jordi learned that someone else had found the loophole and, fearing that someone else would claim the bounty, sent a report to Sony. As a result, Nguyen announced that he would stop working on the PS5 hack.
However, the HackerOne report does not specify whether the current $50,000 payout is related to that September vulnerability or whether it is a new critical bug.
Sony launched a public bug bounty program in June 2020. Both professional cybersecurity experts and ordinary gamers are involved. Bounties are paid for vulnerabilities found in PS4, PS5 consoles and related PlayStation network services.
