10 Year Old Gets $10k After Discovering Instagram Security Flaw

Can any of you guys remember what you were doing when you were 10 years old? Maybe you were out and about with your friends raising all kinds of hell, or maybe you were at home playing video games, or maybe reading a book, or maybe out playing sports, and so on. However it seems that this generation’s 10 year olds are up to something else entirely.

According to a report from local Finnish publication Iltalehti (via TNW), a 10 year old by the name of Jani found a security flaw on Instagram where it allowed him to delete any text that users post on their photos, even if they weren’t uploaded by him. According to the kid, “I would have been able to eliminate anyone, even Justin Bieber.”

Interestingly enough at 10 years old, Jani is just 3 years shy of actually being able to sign up for an Instagram account himself, so it makes this discovery doubly amazing. After discovering the vulnerability, Jani then emailed the folks at Instagram and shortly after was sent a $10,000 check, courtesy of Facebook’s bug bounty program.

It turns out that Jani and his twin brother both have a knack for discovering bugs and at such a tender age too, and this is actually the first time he has been paid for his efforts. We reckon he’s off to a pretty good start and on a good career path right here.

Tyler Lee
Categories: General
Tags: Apps, Instagram, Security