Google's paying double for help finding smart home and wearable bugs

Google's Vulnerability Rewards Program (or VRP) has been steadily chugging along for over a decade now, recently marking its 10-year anniversary with a relaunch of the website that included gamification elements like leaderboards and badges, alongside improved tutorials. And all told, it seems like a successful initiative — in 2021, Google doled out $8.7 million to individuals who uncovered bugs, with 696 researchers in 62 countries getting paid, a marked increase from the $6.7 million distributed in 2020. Now Google is adding even higher incentives for its program, with double the rewards for eligible reports on Google Nest and Fitbit devices.