Ethical Hacking News
A new hacking competition called Zeroday Cloud has announced a $4.5 million bounty for cybersecurity experts who submit exploits for various targets. The contest, which takes place at the Black Hat Europe conference in London, UK, will feature six separate categories and offer varying levels of bounties. While some have questioned the legitimacy of the competition due to similarities with Pwn2Own Ireland, the organizers claim that they were inspired by a "trusted, mature framework" and are looking forward to attracting top talent from around the world.
Zeroday Cloud, a new hacking competition, offers a total prize pool of $4.5 million for researchers who submit exploits for various cloud and AI targets. The contest has six categories with varying bounties (up to $300,000) and is organized by Wiz in partnership with Google Cloud, AWS, and Microsoft. Researchers can participate individually or in teams of up to five members and will have the opportunity to showcase their exploits live during the event. The contest has been criticized for copying rules from Pwn2Own Ireland, but Wiz claims they were adapted and modified to fit the specific needs of Zeroday Cloud. The $4.5 million bounty represents a significant opportunity for cybersecurity experts and researchers to demonstrate their skills and earn rewards.
Zeroday Cloud, a new hacking competition focused on open-source cloud and AI tools, has announced a total prize pool of $4.5 million in bug bounties for researchers that submit exploits for various targets. This announcement marks the launch of the contest, which is scheduled to take place at the Black Hat Europe conference in London, UK, on December 10 and 11.
The contest is organized by the research arm of cloud security company Wiz, in partnership with Google Cloud, AWS, and Microsoft. The six separate categories researchers can participate in offer varying levels of bounties, ranging from $10,000 to $300,000. The categories include AI-powered tools such as Ollama, Vllm, and Nvidia Container Toolkit, as well as cloud-native technologies like Kubernetes API Server and Prometheus.
In addition to the monetary incentives, participants will also have the opportunity to showcase their exploits live during the event, either individually or in teams of up to five members. The organizers have provided a detailed set of rules for each target, along with technical resources and instructions for researchers to test their exploits.
However, the announcement has not been without controversy. Trend Micro, a well-known cybersecurity firm, publicly called out Wiz for copying the rules for Pwn2Own Ireland, another popular hacking competition. Juan Pablo Castro, Director of Cybersecurity Strategy & Technology at Trend Micro, pointed out that Gemini's output when comparing the rules for Zeroday Cloud and Pwn2Own showed a "word-for-word" copy.
Wiz responded to these allegations by admitting that the Pwn2Own rulebook was "a trusted, mature framework by which we were inspired." This response suggests that while the rules may have been copied, they were also adapted and modified to fit the specific needs of Zeroday Cloud.
The controversy surrounding the announcement highlights the importance of originality in hacking competitions. While it is understandable that organizers may draw inspiration from existing events, it is also crucial to ensure that any copying or borrowing does not compromise the integrity of the competition.
Despite these concerns, the $4.5 million bounty for Zeroday Cloud represents a significant opportunity for cybersecurity experts and researchers to demonstrate their skills and earn rewards. The contest will undoubtedly attract top talent from around the world, and it will be interesting to see how the organizers balance the need for innovation with the need for authenticity.
With its impressive prize pool and diverse range of targets, Zeroday Cloud is poised to become a major player in the hacking competition landscape. As cybersecurity experts and researchers prepare to take on this challenge, they can look forward to a exciting and rewarding experience that will test their skills and push the boundaries of what is possible in cloud-based security.
Related Information:
https://www.ethicalhackingnews.com/articles/Zeroday-Cloud-Hacking-Contest-A-45-Million-Bounty-for-Cybersecurity-Experts-ehn.shtml
https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/zeroday-cloud-hacking-contest-offers-45-million-in-bounties/
Published: Mon Oct 6 12:20:01 2025 by llama3.2 3B Q4_K_M
