Apple touted Apple Intelligence's privacy credentials extensively when it announced this AI suite earlier this year. People like Elon Musk, in particular, were particularly uncomfortable with Apple's partnership with ChatGPT. However, Apple has now launched and funded the first Apple Intelligence Bug Bounty.

Specifically, Apple is looking for hackers to investigate Private Cloud Compute (PCC) functionality. While on-device AI is inherently private because all data remains on the phone, cloud computing is a different matter; PCC is Apple's attempt to solve this problem and provide cloud-based AI processing without compromising data security and user privacy. This is Apple's attempt to solve this problem and provide cloud-based AI processing without compromising data security and user privacy.

But clearly Apple does not expect us to take them at their word, and actively encourages security researchers and “anyone with an interest and technical curiosity” to independently verify their claims about PCC. It would be a major blow to Apple if this system were somehow compromised and malicious vendors were able to access user data that is supposed to be secure.

The point of the bug bounty is to provide incentives for hackers and other security professionals. Hackers are a brave bunch and often find ways to stress-test systems that in-house developers would never think of. And by reporting problems they encounter, a mutually beneficial arrangement is formed with Apple. Apple can quietly fix security flaws without user data becoming known to malicious people, and hackers can be rewarded for their efforts.

In the case of PCC, Apple offers various rewards depending on the reported problem, but now the maximum amount has been raised to $1 million. This amount is only applicable for “executing arbitrary code with any entitlement” during a “remote attack on the requested data. This should tell you how seriously Apple is taking this issue or how confident they are in the security of PCC.

Overall, $1 million is a small price to pay to avoid the PR disaster that would ensue if criminals find a way in.

To facilitate this, Apple offers a variety of tools and resources to assist bug bounty hunters. These include a security guide with technical details of PCC, source code for “certain key components of PCC that can help implement PCC security and privacy requirements,” and a “virtual research environment” for conducting PCC security analysis. The latter requires a Mac with Apple Silicon, at least 16 GB of RAM, and access to macOS Sequoia 15.1 developer preview.

Privacy is always a concern when using online services, and cloud AI is no different. Thankfully, Apple seems to remain as privacy-centric as ever, openly looking for ways to keep things secure. Not to everyone's satisfaction, but it's better than nothing.