Microsoft Increases Zero Day Quest Prize Pool to $5 Million

The largest hacking event in history, Microsoft's Zero Day Quest, is back and better than ever. The company has announced an increase in the prize pool for this year's contest, with a focus on addressing security issues in cloud computing and artificial intelligence.

Microsoft will offer up to $5 million in bounty awards at this year's Zero Day Quest, making it one of the most lucrative hacking competitions out there. Last year's event generated significant participation from the security community, following Microsoft's offer of $4 million in rewards for vulnerabilities in cloud and AI products and platforms.

The company has a history of rewarding top researchers with substantial payouts. In fact, Microsoft paid out a record $1.6 million last November, having received over 600 vulnerability submissions as part of the research challenge. This year's competition promises to be just as exciting, with a focus on addressing security issues in cloud computing and artificial intelligence.

Increased Bounty Pool and Multiplier

The prize pool for this year's Zero Day Quest has been increased to $5 million, making it one of the most lucrative hacking competitions out there. But that's not all - Microsoft is also offering a +50% bounty multiplier for Critical severity vulnerabilities and high-impact scenarios discovered during the Research Challenge that align with the new and existing Microsoft Azure, Copilot, Dynamics 365, and Power Platform, Identity, or M365 Bounty Programs.

Participants will also be eligible for multiplied bounty payouts if their submission qualifies for both general and high-impact multipliers. If that happens, the higher value applies. This means that top-performing researchers can potentially earn up to $10 million by discovering critical vulnerabilities and participating in the contest.

Live Hacking Event and Training Sessions

Top-performing researchers will qualify for a live hacking event at Microsoft's Redmond campus in Spring 2026. This invitation-only competition will bring together leading security researchers to collaborate directly with the Microsoft Security Response Center and Microsoft product teams.

But that's not all - participants will also have access to training sessions from Microsoft's AI Red Team, MSRC, and Dynamics teams covering AI system testing, bug bounty programs, and security research methodologies. This means that top researchers will have the opportunity to learn from the best in the industry and gain valuable insights into cloud and AI security.

Secure Future Initiative

The Zero Day Quest is part of Microsoft's Secure Future Initiative (SFI), a cybersecurity engineering effort launched in November 2023. This initiative aims to improve Cloud and AI security by making it more transparent and accessible to the security community.

"As part of our Secure Future Initiative, we will transparently share critical vulnerabilities through the CVE program, even if no customer action is required," Microsoft said. "Learnings from the Zero Day Quest will be shared across Microsoft to help improve Cloud and AI security in alignment with SFI's core principles: securing by default, by design, and in operations."

Other Bug Bounty Program Updates

Microsoft has also announced some other updates to its bug bounty programs. The company is now paying up to $40,000 for some .NET vulnerabilities, making it one of the most lucrative bug bounty programs out there.

Additionally, Microsoft has expanded its .NET bug bounty program and introduced a 100% award multiplier for all Copilot bounty awards to incentivize AI research. This means that top researchers can potentially earn substantial payouts by discovering critical vulnerabilities in Microsoft's AI-powered products and platforms.

Achievements and Statistics

Microsoft has achieved some impressive statistics in its bug bounty program over the last 12 months. The company paid out a record $17 million in bounties, making it one of the most successful bug bounty programs in the industry.

The company also reports that 93% of malware uses ATT&CK techniques, with password stores being the most targeted area. This means that top researchers will have the opportunity to make a real impact by discovering critical vulnerabilities and participating in the Zero Day Quest.