Google Pixel Hacked In 60 Seconds By Chinese Team, Won $120,000

Google’s newest entry into the smartphone industry, the Pixel was just broken into by a team of Chinese hackers called Qihoo 360. What’s more, they did it during a competition held in Seoul, South Korea and they won $120,000 as a result.

With the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 out for the count, this was the time for Google to bust through the crowded space of the smartphone industry and make its Pixel product stand out. However, a hacking competition called PwnFest just showed how easy it was to break into the phone’s security, International Business Times reports. They were reportedly able to do this via a vulnerability, which allowed the hackers to achieve remote access execution.

Surprisingly enough, this isn’t actually the first time that the Pixel phone was hacked. A rival group of Qihoo 360 called Keen Team, which is employed by the company Tencent, also did the same thing at an earlier event in Japan.

In a rather twisted piece of good luck, showcasing the vulnerability during a well-publicized event provided Google with the chance to patch the hole. As of writing this piece, however, the patch has yet to be provided.

The existence of these types of hackers is incredibly important in this day and age as well, Futurism notes, where cyber security has become a major factor in everyday life. Users login to private accounts when they access personal or banking information on a daily basis. With the advent of increasingly integrated apps like shopping bots through Facebook Messenger, users are only going to become more vulnerable.

Just to emphasize the skills of the Qihoo 360 team, they also broke into the security system of a Tesla Model S, which allowed them access to essential parts of the car two years ago. Tesla has since addressed the security flaw, but this is exactly why good-guy hackers are needed.