The 10-year-old genius hacker known only by the name of Jani has managed to successfully find a security flaw on the photo and video sharing app, Instagram. Jani, who is not old enought to have his own Facebook or Instagram account, was awarded with $10,000 for uncovering a critical vulnerability.
The reward comes from Facebook's Bug Bounty program where users can be paid to find bugs and glitches in their various social media platforms including Instagram. Facebook bought Instagram in 2012 for a billion dollars. Jani is the youngest child hacker ever to receive acknowledgment from Facebook, NBC News noted.
#Facebook pays 10-year-old $10,000 for finding #Instagram security flaw, via @DigitalTrends | https://t.co/EVwd0hojAR
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Jani discovered a security flaw in Instagram that allowed him to delete any comment on the app. He forced deleted comments by revising a code on Instagram servers. Jani confirmed his findings by deleting a comment on a test Instagram account posted by the company, Forbes said. The Instagram security flaw was patched in February this year and Jani was awarded the $10K Facebook Bug Bounty award in March.
The 10-year-old Instagram security hacker is self-taught. Jani learned how to write codes and hack by watching YouTube videos. He plans to use his Instagram award money from Facebook to buy a new bike, computers and football equipment. Jani plans to use his hacker skills to good use and says that he wants to join the online security industry.
Facebook's Bug Bounty program started in 2011, The Washington Post noted. Since its start, Facebook has shelled out $4.3 million in rewards to hundreds of users. Jani's $10K bounty from discovering Instagram's security flaw was considered to be one of the biggest payouts from Facebook. The award was measured according to the risk on its users and on Instagram, the comment security flaw could potentially harm everybody, Facebook's security representative Melanie Ensign told the outlet.
