Hacker News Reader

Well how would you otherwise monetize the exploit? You could sell it on the black market, but I doubt you'd be able to make 1M off of it. Then again I don't know the black market so you could?

But bug bounties like this are competing with the shadier markets. I suspect they found out the shady companies are offering more than their existing bug bounty program did.

Quite simply if you have your name on apple.com that says they paid you $1m under this program you just walk into any VC office in SF or Tel Aviv and say "how much have you got?"

As Warren Buffet says there is plenty of money to be made in the centre

The problem is that technically finding the exploit at all is in violation of the CFAA. Once you approach Apple with the exploit, you're then skating on their goodwill. Trying to play hardball probably won't go well for you.