BEIJING, March 22, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The security of so-called smart devices has become a growing concern among Chinese.
A short program produced by CCTV and shown on World Consumer Rights Day (March 15th) this year showed how drones, cameras, cars with high-tech apparatus and even home ovens can be manipulated by hackers. The CCTV program was watched by a large audience and brought much-needed attention to the growing problem in China.
Produced jointly by CCTV and the contest platform GeekPwn, the show revealed hacker techniques in a bid to encourage manufacturers of "smart hardware" to protect the privacy, property and personal safety of customers by paying greater attention to fixing potentially vulnerable aspects of their wares.
GeekPwn was founded by the well-known white hat hacker team KEEN, which provides a service which highlights such vulnerabilities.
Differing from another "hacker" contest, Pwn2Own, contestants of GeekPwn can choose to break any smart software or hardware and are not simply limited to computers and mobile phones. If a player successfully breaks into a target, he or she can claim large cash prizes. GeekPwn last year offered up a total prize pool of five million yuan.
This year, the company plans to go global and hold two contests. In addition to the GeekPwn 2016 Carnival which will be held on October 24 in Shanghai, the company will also host an international contest on May 12 in Macao.
The Macao event (http://2016.geekpwn.org/en/) has sent out invitations to computer enthusiasts around the world and will feature prizes in six categories: smart phones, smart transportation, wearable devices, smart home appliances, smart entertainment and mobile app.
The maximum prize for each section could be up to 800,000 yuan.
The Macao event is open to enthusiasts worldwide and GeekPwn will submit any vulnerabilities found to the manufacturers in a bid to help them improve product safety and protect their customers.
Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160322/346691
SOURCE GeekPwn