iPhone hacking price list: Here’s how much hackers charge for zero-day iOS exploits

In the world of cybersecurity, the zero-day exploit market is booming, with hacks targeting popular devices and software skyrocketing in price. Crowdfense, a startup that specializes in acquiring and reselling zero-day vulnerabilities, recently released its latest pricing list, revealing staggering sums for vulnerabilities in iPhones, iMessage, and more.

Pricing Revealed: How Zero-Day Hackers Are Valued

Zero-day exploits, so named because they rely on undisclosed vulnerabilities unknown to software developers, receive huge sums of money due to their potential for covert surveillance and espionage. Crowdfense’s pricing schedule shows it will pay between $5 and $7 million for a zero-day exploit that could penetrate an iPhone, while an Android exploit could net as much as $5 million.Likewise, exploits targeting popular web browsers and messaging platforms reportedly received the highest value, with Google Chrome and Safari exploits valued at as much as $3 million and $3.5 million respectively, while iMessage and WhatsApp hacks were valued at Between US$3 and US$5 million technological crisis.

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Price Rise: Factors Driving Price Rise

The figures mark a significant increase from Crowdfense’s previous pricing and reflect growing demand for sophisticated hacking tools. The surge in prices can be attributed to heightened security measures implemented by tech giants like Apple and Google, prompting hackers to hunt for increasingly rare and elusive vulnerabilities.

While Crowdfense’s payouts are among the highest in the industry, other players, especially those in Russia, offer even more generous rewards. Last year, a Russian company called Operation Zero announced plans to pay up to $20 million for iPhone and Android vulnerabilities, although geopolitical tensions and sanctions may affect the accessibility of such deals.

While third-party brokers are lucrative, tech companies like Apple also offer their own bug bounty programs. For example, Apple’s security research bounty program offers rewards of up to $2 million for critical security vulnerabilities discovered in its products.

The rising price of zero-day attacks highlights the changing cybersecurity landscape, where the race to find and exploit vulnerabilities is driven by financial incentives and geopolitical interests. As technology continues to advance, the need for effective cybersecurity measures and ethical hacking becomes increasingly important to protect the digital ecosystem from malicious actors.

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