DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Trend Micro Incorporated (TYO: 4704; TSE: 4704), a global leader in cybersecurity solutions, today announced its spring vulnerability research competition, Pwn2Own Vancouver, run by Trend Micro’s Zero Day Initiative™ (ZDI). This year’s contest includes an entirely new automotive category, through a partnership with Tesla, as well as a continued partnership with Microsoft and sponsorship from VMware. Collectively, more than $1 million in cash and prizes is available for researchers through the contest.

Continuing the IoT focus of the recent Pwn2Own Tokyo, which added consumer IoT devices to the contest’s targets, this year’s Pwn2Own Vancouver expands to include a Tesla Model 3, the best-selling luxury vehicle in the U.S. last year, to the target list. Tesla pioneered the concept of bringing over-the-air software updates to automobiles in 2012, and since then, the company has issued hundreds of over-the-air updates that have made Tesla cars smarter, faster, safer and more enjoyable to drive. Tesla’s involvement in the competition marks a new step in the era of connected devices.

“Since 2007, Pwn2Own has become an industry-leading contest that encourages new areas of vulnerability research on today’s most critical platforms,” said Brian Gorenc, senior director of vulnerability research for Trend Micro. “Over the years we have added new targets and categories to direct research efforts toward areas of growing concern for businesses and consumers. This year, we’ve partnered with some of the biggest names in technology to further this commitment and continue driving relevant vulnerability research.”

The partnerships add new platforms to the contest’s well-known list of targets, including virtualization platforms, enterprise applications, web browsers, and more. The full list of targets includes:

• Automotive Category
  • Tesla Model 3
• Virtualization Category
  • Oracle VirtualBox
  • VMware Workstation
  • VMware ESXi
  • Microsoft Hyper-V Client
• Browser Category
  • Google Chrome
  • Microsoft Edge
  • Apple Safari
  • Mozilla Firefox
• Enterprise Applications Category
  • Adobe Reader
  • Microsoft Office 365
  • Microsoft Outlook
• Server-side Category
  • Microsoft Windows RDP

“We develop our cars with the highest standards of safety in every respect, and our work with the security research community is invaluable to us. Since launching our bug bounty program in 2014 – the first to include a connected consumer vehicle – we have continuously increased our investments into partnerships with security researchers to ensure that all Tesla owners constantly benefit from the brightest minds in the community,” said David Lau, Vice President of Vehicle Software at Tesla. “We look forward to learning about, and rewarding, great work in Pwn2Own so that we can continue to improve our products and our approach to designing inherently secure systems.”

“It’s inspiring to see some of today’s leading tech companies taking the initiative to secure their products by leveraging the incredibly talented minds participating in Pwn2Own,” Dragos Ruiu, CanSec West event organizer. “The target list for the contest is certainly impressive, and I’m excited to see what kinds of creative solutions researchers will demonstrate during the competition.”

This year’s expansion in Pwn2Own furthers Trend Micro’s focus on securing the connected world by partnering with major vendors in this space. The company recently announced several other initiatives in this vein, including a joint venture agreement with Moxa Inc. and a program to help IoT device makers tackle security during manufacturing.

For more information on Pwn2Own Vancouver, please visit: https://www.zerodayinitiative.com/blog/2019/1/14/pwn2own-vancouver-2019-tesla-vmware-microsoft-and-more

About Trend Micro

Trend Micro Incorporated, a global leader in cybersecurity solutions, helps to make the world safe for exchanging digital information. Our innovative solutions for consumers, businesses, and governments provide layered security for data centers, cloud workloads, networks, and endpoints. With more than 6,000 employees in 50 countries and the world’s most advanced global threat research and intelligence, Trend Micro enables organizations to secure their connected world. For more information, visit www.trendmicro.com.