Google Will Pay Anyone Who Finds Security Problem in Android

— -- Cyber security sleuths looking to earn some extra cash may want to set their sights on finding vulnerabilities in Google's Android operating system.

The search giant announced a bug bounty program this week for information on security holes uncovered in the Nexus 6 phone and Nexus 9 tablet.

The base payout starts at $500 and stretches to $8,000 for critical issues submitted along with a test case and a patch, according to rules outlined on Google's Android Security Rewards program site.

"The final amount is always chosen at the discretion of the reward panel. In particular, we may decide to pay higher rewards for unusually clever or severe vulnerabilities; decide that a single report actually constitutes multiple bugs; or that multiple reports are so closely related that they only warrant a single reward," Google's security team explained on the program's website.

The hope is the program will complement Google's security team to help make sure consumers are running the most secure operating system and catching potential vulnerabilities before they become widespread.

Google announced another bug bounty program in February for its Chrome browser, offering a tongue-in-cheek reward of as much as "infinity million dollars" for anyone who brings security flaws to the company's attention.