Although there's virtually no chance that anything Microsoft receives from BlueHat Prize could make it into Windows 8 -- this year's upgrade will likely reach the just weeks after the contest winners are revealed -- the company could roll some of the technologies into a Windows 8 service pack next year, Storms said in a 2011 interview when BlueHat Prize debuted.

Microsoft has done something similar in the past: In mid-2004, it revamped Windows XP's security with Service Pack 2 (SP2).

Gregg Keizer covers Microsoft, security issues, Apple, Web browsers and general technology breaking news for Computerworld. Follow Gregg on Twitter at , or subscribe to . His e-mail address is .

in Computerworld's Security Topic Center.