AUCKLAND, October 29, 2024 – Global cybersecurity leader Trend Micro Incorporated (TYO: 4704; TSE: 4704) has invited hackers from around the globe to the first ever Pwn2Own Ireland competition sponsored by Meta, Synology, and QNAP. As cybercriminals increasingly focus on using consumer devices to gain access to enterprise networks, participants in the contest will uncover exploits and unpatched vulnerabilities in widely used AI-enabled hardware and software. Cash prizes are awarded for disclosing vulnerabilities, enabling vendors to patch them and Trend to protect its customers an average of 70 days ahead of the industry.

Mick McCluney, ANZ Field CTO at Trend: “Enterprise security now extends beyond corporate devices. Remote work, bring-your-own-device policies, and sprawling corporate networks have expanded the attack surface, making home-based devices prime targets for cybercriminals. To proactively address this complex challenge, we remained committed to our bug bounty programs like Pwn2Own where researchers are rewarded to find vulnerabilities before attackers exploit them, safeguarding both our enterprise customers and the entire industry.”

The proliferation of generative AI tools has created new attack paths for threat actors who can abuse these tools to damage infrastructure, infiltrate cloud networks, steal sensitive data and rapidly generate convincing deepfakes to perpetrate fraud. Consumer devices that use local AI tools may also pose risks to enterprise security even when not connected to internal networks due to information being saved locally or elsewhere by AI tools.

The contest, hosted by the Trend Micro Zero Day Initiative™, will reward researchers for disclosing vulnerabilities in seven categories: Mobile Phones, Messenger Apps, The SOHO (Small Office/Home Office) Smashup, Surveillance Systems, Home Automation Hubs, Printers, Smart Speakers, and Network Attached Storage (NAS) Devices. AI will play roles for both attack and defence as Trend implements researchers’ discoveries into its threat intelligence database in real time.

Dustin Childs, Head of Threat Awareness at Trend’s Zero Day Initiative: “Rapid adoption of AI tools combined with widespread use of consumer devices on enterprise networks is presenting organisations around the world with the challenge of reducing risks that they can’t easily oversee. Vulnerabilities in these devices and programs are inevitable, but we’re here to find them before threat actors do. In doing so, we reduce risk for all parties—employees, enterprises, partners, and the public—without having to place a greater burden on security staff or budgets.”

To address the speed and diversity of threats and risks facing global enterprises, Trend has invested heavily in its flagship Trend Vision One™ platform, delivering industry-first security for AI services as well as the people using them. Other platform innovations in 2024 include deepfake detection, native protection for AI PCs, security for AI datacentres and the development of AI integrations, protection of AI deployments for enterprises and governments and more to come.

Trend upholds a robust responsible AI model and believes that all security vendors have a responsibility to ensure technologies are developed and used in ways that are ethical, transparent and accountable.

Pwn2Own Ireland was held in Cork from October 22-25, 2024.

To learn more about Pwn2Own and Trend Micro’s Zero Day Initiative, visit: https://www.zerodayinitiative.com/blog/2024/10/22/pwn2own-ireland-the-full-schedule