Microsoft's Zero Day Quest cybersecurity challenge and live hacking event awarded $2.3 million in prize money to more than 700 security researchers who submitted nearly 1,500 vulnerability reports. The research center announced on August 3, 2026, that it had distributed over $20 million in bounty payments to 562 researchers across 64 countries over the past year, marking a significant increase from the previous year's total of $17 million to 344 researchers from 59 different nations. Following Microsoft’s decision last year to broaden vulnerability award eligibility, which included open-source software, third-party components, and previously excluded Microsoft cloud services, the company has received over 300 additional reports and paid out more than $800,000 in awards.
The growing use of AI-assisted research tools to find vulnerabilities suggests defenders should anticipate faster discovery cycles but also be prepared for adversaries leveraging similar tooling offensively. Organizations relying on Microsoft cloud services and AI platforms should closely monitor MSRC advisories, as coordinated disclosure through programs like Zero Day Quest often precedes patches addressing high-severity flaws before they are exploited in the wild. Enhance your SOC with comprehensive phishing visibility to minimize Mean Time To Resolution (MTTR).
