The Microsoft Bounty Program awarded million to 562 researchers across 64 countries, surpassing last year's million distributed to 344 researchers. The program invites researchers to report vulnerabilities in Microsoft's products and services. This year's increase in submissions is partly due to advancements in artificial intelligence, which helps researchers identify vulnerabilities but also aids malicious actors. The Microsoft Zero Day Quest event resulted in over 700 vulnerability reports and more than .3 million awarded to participants.