For a single minute in September, Google.com did not belong to Google.
Sanmay Ved, an ad sales worker and former Googler, bought the domain right out from under Google’s nose using the search giant’s own domain-buying platform.
Google quickly cancelled the order and regained control of the most-trafficked site on the Web. But the company offered Ved a $6,000.13 reward—the numbers spell out Google, sort of—for uncovering the security flaw, according to a blog post. When Ved said he intended to donate the reward to charity, Google doubled theamount to $12,000.
Ved wasn’t the only person to get paid for highlighting a flaw in Google’s services. Overall, Google gave researchers $2 million for uncovering vulnerabilities across the company’s platforms in 2015.
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