If security researchers report any vulnerability to Apple, they have a chance to go ahead and earn around $200k, however, Black hat company Exodus Intelligence offers $500k which can be a counter offer that cannot be resisted,.
The firm uses the label that is innocuous sounding called Research Sponsorship Program; the way the money is earned by the company is by obtaining information on the various vulnerabilities. After that it is available for people who want to hack devices by exploiting them.
Three is a hit list on the Exodus’s official site where in it shows that $500K will be paid for a day where the iOS 9.3+ has no vulnerability. If there are flaws found in various browsers, flash and Adobe Reader, then there are payouts which are smaller.
The offer that Apple gives, the maximum headline fees that is offered is what will be paid. However the amount that is being offered by Exodus ranges from $5000. When the creator of the software is unaware, it is termed ad a Zero day vulnerabilities. This means that if there is a flaw, the company does not have any time to make preparations in case of an attack.
It is known that there are a lot of government agencies and companies which are trying to find ways to go ahead and break into various devices including the iPhone. It just may be that in regards to the San Bernardino case, the FBI had got help from a company that managed to break into the iPhone by exploiting the zero days.
If you look at the table of the payment that is being offered you will find the name of the target like Google Chrome, iOS 9.3+ etc., there is also a description provided as to what falls under it and the payment range that is being offered.
