Cybersecurity

Russian and Brazilian Hackers Discover Facebook's Biggest Holes

Facebook Inc.'s data storage center near the Arctic Circle in Lulea, Sweden on June 12, 2013. Photographer: Simon Dawson/Bloomberg
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Russia and Brazil are hacking Facebook, and the social network is paying them to do it.

Facebook paid out $1.5 million to computer-security researchers worldwide last year as part of its bug bounty program, and the two emerging markets were responsible for reporting some of the most critical threats, according to a report Facebook released today. The company rewards disclosures about vulnerabilities, and then uses the information to fortify the world's largest social network against hackers.