Apple has announced the launch of testing of its Private Cloud Compute (PCC) servers running the Apple Intelligence artificial intelligence (AI) package and invited everyone to find vulnerabilities in the system. The company is ready to pay from $50,000 to $1 million for the discovery of serious vulnerabilities, TechCrunch reports.
Since some complex tasks are processed on Apple servers rather than on devices, there are increased security risks. For this reason, PCC was created so that enthusiasts could test its stability. The maximum reward of $1 million is provided for the detection of exploits that allow remote launch of malicious code on PCC servers.
Apple has taken the unusual step of posting part of the source code of PCC components on GitHub so that testers can more thoroughly assess the security and privacy of the service. The company is also ready to consider any vulnerabilities that seriously affect PCC, even if they do not fall into the main categories. To participate in the testing, you need a MacBook with Apple Silicon (at least 16 GB of RAM) and macOS Sequoia 15.1 Developer Preview.
In addition, Apple has confirmed that the new iOS 18.1 with the first Apple Intelligence features will be available on 28 October. Owners of iPhone 15 Pro/Pro Max and iPhone 16 models will have access to new features such as a smart notification system, generative AI for text creation and summarisation, and a quick overview of webpage content in Safari. Other Apple Intelligence features, including ChatGPT integration and Genmoji and Image Playground apps, will be available later in December, with a full launch scheduled for spring with iOS 18.3 or 18.4.
Initially, these AI capabilities will be available for free, but Apple plans to introduce a subscription service similar to iCloud+ in the future, which will allow users to fully use the new features of the operating system on a paid basis.
