Technology Company Will Pay You $300,000 If You Can Hack Them

The cloud-based messaging app Telegram is offering $300,000 to the most "malicious" computer hacker.

You read that right. If you can gain full control of the communication lines and servers used by "Nick" and "Paul" to extract their sensitive data, you could be rewarded with more than a quarter million bucks.

Image source: Twitter/@Telegram

Telegram is a service that focuses on security and speed so the nature of this contest should come as no surprise. However,  the winner will need to find out how to do the very types of hacking the company seeks to prevent. Participants are required to create an online chat between the fictional characters Nick and Paul, create the message they send to one another and then find a way to secretly extract the content of their chat.

But before Telegram hands you a few hundred thousand dollars, you're going to have to prove you successfully "hacked" Nick and Paul's "chat." Here's what you'll need to send to the secret email address you obtain from the private chat session:

• Text of the message contained in the secret email.
• Session logs for the successful attempt with your own user ID
• Explanation of how you performed the "attack"
• Your bank account information to receive $300,000

The online contest is set to end February 4. To find out more details, visit their website.

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