Apple to reward 14-year-old boy who discovered FaceTime bug

 The concept of ‘bug bounty’ is common and widespread in tech town and companies often reward users or security researchers for reporting bugs and flaws. This time a 14-year-old boy, Grant Thompson, is being rewarded by Apple for reporting one of the biggest and awkward bug in the company’s much-touted feature. 

Apple has revealed that it will reward the family, an extra ‘gift’ to Thompson and provide an additional gift to fund his tuition. Though, the exact amount hasn’t been disclosed. 

In fact, Apple on its support page where it listed out the fixes rolled out to iPhone and iPad has credited Thompson and it noted, "A logic issue existed in the handling of Group FaceTime calls. The issue was addressed with improved state management.” It further said that the bug was reported by a “Grant Thompson of Catalina Foothills High School, Daven Morris of Arlington, Texas.” 

Apple released iOS 12.1.4 and fixed a major security flaw in FaceTime that allowed people to eavesdrop on iPhone users. 

Apple’s history with bug bounty rewards is mixed. The company originally started paying iOS bounties three years ago, but researchers have been reluctant to help Apple with its security. Apple offers up to $200,000 to security researchers who discover vulnerabilities and report them, but the bugs are often more valuable to sell elsewhere than to report. Earlier this week, a security researcher detailed a macOS flaw but refused to submit it to Apple until the company pays researchers for Mac security flaws. Currently, Apple only offers compensation for iOS bugs, not macOS ones.