Instagram wants hackers to hack its shopping feature

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The Facebook-owned company said it was inviting a group of security researchers to submit to a stress test its Checkout feature before extending it beyond the United States.

The tool, launched in March, allows users to purchase products directly on Instagram from a number of brands, including Zara, H & M and Nike. Previously, users had to leave the Instagram application and buy the article on the retailer's website.

Instagram previously stated that payments on the payment function were secure and handled in partnership with Pay Pal (PYPL). Instagram also indicated that it did not share payment information with sellers and kept the financial information on secure servers.

Researchers, also known as white hat hackers, discover vulnerabilities before a bad actor can do so to protect users. In this case, they will quickly access global functionality and earn rewards for eligible reports. Those who qualify have already submitted "high quality" research to its bug control program.

In 2018, Facebook has awarded more than $ 1.1 million in awards to researchers in more than 100 countries who have discovered and reported security vulnerabilities and misuse of data. The average amount of scholarships was about $ 1,500 last year.

This is not the first time that the parent company of Instagram Facebook (FB) invited hackers in white hat to test a feature.
Facebook said it gave a select group of researchers early access to the FB5, which is the new Facebook look presented at the F8 developer conference held earlier this year.
This 24 year old finds new features in your favorite applications.

Philippe Harewood, one of the researchers who participated in the private program, discovered a bug in the new Facebook interface, which could have allowed someone to delete another person's profile photo. . The company said Harewood's work helped the company solve the problem before deploying the FB5 worldwide.

Facebook is also expanding its data abuse bounty program to Instagram, which aims to search for and launch applications that leverage its platforms. Researchers will now be able to report third-party apps that incorrectly access and store user data on Instagram.

Facebook launched its bug bonus program in 2011. Last year, it launched another program focused on misuse of data as a result of revelations that Cambridge Analytica had collected data in such a way inappropriate with millions of users.

The Data Misuse program rewards individuals who report instances in which a third-party application collects and transfers data from Facebook – and now from Instagram – to another party for sale or sale. use for fraudulent purposes. The rewards can go up to $ 40,000 per case.

Other tech companies also offer bug bonus programs. Google paid a total of $ 3.4 million in awards in 2018 to researchers who discovered vulnerabilities. Earlier this month, Apple (AAPL) said it would offer hackers up to $ 1 million to hack an iPhone.

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