Valve pays ethical hackers £80k+ to uncover Steam’s security flaws

Video game company Valve has paid out $109,600 (£80,645) to white hat hackers to find security flaws in its Steam gaming portal.

It’s part of the hackerone.com project, which financially rewards ethical hackers for discovering security problems before they are exploited by cyber criminals or gamers trying to gain an unfair advantage.

Cash rewards range from $100 for minor risk flaws, stretching right up to $3,000 in exchange for information on critical exploits.

The scheme is not exclusive to Steam and also covers a number of Valve-related game servers including Team Fortress 2, CS:GO and Dota 2.

A total of 180 issues have been reported and resolved since the scheme launched in November 2017. 

In a statement on its hackerone.com page, Valve says it “recognises how important it is to help protect privacy and security”.

It adds: “We understand that secure products and services are critical in establishing and maintaining trust with our users [and] strive to consistently deliver secure and enjoyable experiences in all of our products and services.

“Working together, we can all make Steam and the internet safer.”