Bad timing after VMware laid off Workstation developers in January The Pwn2Own hacking contest will return in March, pitting researchers against the most popular browsers and operating systems. The novelty: Contestants can win a $75,00 prize for escaping a VMware virtual machine.Contestants will be able to exploit Microsoft Edge or Google Chrome on fully patched versions of 64-bit Windows 10 and Apple Safari on OS X El Capitan. System or root-level privilege escalation pays extra, as does escaping from the virtual machine.Every year, Pwn2Own, at the CanSecWest security conference, has slightly modified rules, and 2016 is no different. Adobe Reader, Mozilla Firefox and Internet Explorer are no longer on the contest’s target list. Adobe Flash remains, but only the version that comes bundled with Microsoft Edge.Exploiting Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge will earn hackers $65,000, while exploiting Apple Safari on Mac only $40,000. Achieving system-level access on Windows or root access on Mac OS X would add another $20,000 to the final payout. The significant prize differences between Chrome, Edge and Safari exploits might stem from protections on Windows offered by the Microsoft Enhanced Mitigation Experience Toolkit (EMET).EMET is a tool, primarily aimed at businesses, that applies various exploit mitigation technologies to applications that otherwise lack them. This adds additional complexity and significant hurdles for exploit developers. On top of that, the Windows environment will run as a guest OS in a virtual machine created with VMware Workstation. Breaking out of the virtual machine is not mandatory, but those who do so will earn an additional $75,000.Potential vulnerabilities in Workstation would not be good news for VMware, which laid off most of its developers working on the product in January. The company said at the time that its computing virtualization products like Workstation and Fusion have reached maturity and will play a decreasing role in its business.Pwn2Own has been historically organized by security appliance maker TippingPoint, a division of Hewlett Packard that also runs the Zero Day Initiative, a vulnerability acquisition program. However, because Trend Micro entered into an agreement to acquire TippingPoint in October, this year’s Pwn2Own will be sponsored by both Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Trend Micro. Related content news analysis Attackers breach US government agencies through ColdFusion flaw Both incidents targeted outdated and unpatched ColdFusion servers and exploited a known vulnerability. By Lucian Constantin Dec 06, 2023 5 mins Advanced Persistent Threats Advanced Persistent Threats Advanced Persistent Threats news BSIMM 14 finds rapid growth in automated security technology Embrace of a "shift everywhere" philosophy is driving a demand for automated, event-driven software security testing. By John P. Mello Jr. Dec 06, 2023 4 mins Application Security Network Security news Almost 50% of organizations plan to reduce cybersecurity headcounts: Survey While organizations are realizing the need for knowledgeable teams to address unknown threats, they are also looking to reduce their security headcount and infrastructure spending. By Gagandeep Kaur Dec 06, 2023 4 mins IT Jobs Security Practices feature 20 years of Patch Tuesday: it’s time to look outside the Windows when fixing vulnerabilities After two decades of regular and indispensable updates, it’s clear that security teams need take a more holistic approach to applying fixes far beyond the Microsoft ecosystem. By Susan Bradley Dec 06, 2023 6 mins Patch Management Software Threat and Vulnerability Management Windows Security Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe