Google to offer $3m in bounties for successful Chrome OS hacks

U.S. tech giant Google says it will pay a combined total of nearly $3 million to hackers who can find security weaknesses in its Chrome OS computer software. The search giant will hold a contest called "Pwnium" in March, when hackers will be able to test their skill by trying to hack into either an HP Chromebook 11 or an Acer C720 Chromebook, the Los Angeles Times reported Friday. Google said it will pay out prizes of $110,000 and $150,000 for any successful hacks, up to a total of nearly $3 million. Any hacker who can compromise Chrome OS through a Web page can get $110,000 payout, while the $150,000 bounty will be reserved for Web page hacks so thorough they leave the computer under a hacker's control even after it has been rebooted. Pwnium will take place during the CanSecWest security conference in Vancouver, Canada. It will be the latest in a series of competitions Google has held to entice hackers to find security holes at a time of Google's choosing and present them to the company upfront.