Microsoft has paid a £62,000 reward to a British security researcher who discovered a bug in the company’s latest operating system.
James Forshaw, who works for data protection firm Context Information Security, found a method that hackers could use to beat the in-built defences of a preview version of Windows 8.1.
It is the first time Microsoft has paid such a large bounty, but it believes Mr Forshaw’s discovery will help them make its system more secure.
Mr Forshaw, 34, who is head of vulnerability research and lives in London, said: “My total research process was about three-and-a-half weeks because I had a few false starts.
“There were two weeks of development from that initial concept to the final product I sent to Microsoft. But I have over 10 years’ experience in this field.”
