A student from Babson College, Massachusetts has taken possession of the most powerful site in the world.
In a report by the Huffington Post, Sanmay Ved, an Indian-American student, bought Google.com for just $12.
"I was hoping I would get an error at some time saying [the] transaction did not go through, but I was able to complete [the] purchase, and my credit card was actually charged!" Ved wrote on his blog in LinkedIn.
In his blog, Ved wrote that he was searching for the availability of Google.com domains to learn more about the Google Domains interface when he saw something peculiar, Google.com was shown as available for $12. So, as every person would do, he tried adding it to his cart, and to his surprise, Google.com was really added to his cart, which meant that Google.com is really up for sale.
Ved also wrote that when he tried to purchase Google.com using his credit card, he was hoping to receive an error. But, imagine his surprise when his purchase got through and his credit card was actually charged for the purchase.
Not only did his purchase go through, he also gained verified admin/verified owner privileges over Google.com and the other websites powered by the domain.
"Maybe because I love Google to heart, and because I have always been a loyal Googler and Xoogler, reporting several vulnerabilities in the past which had gone unnoticed, some divine force decided to give me ownership for a minute or so," Ved wrote.
Naturally, someone who acquired ownership of the most powerful website in the world will use his newly found authority for self-gain, but not for Ved. He chose to notify Google Security about the incident.
Google offered a reward to Ved through their Google Security Rewards Program, but Ved declined the reward and insisted on giving the money to the Art of Living India Foundation.
Art of Living India Foundation has an education program which runs 404 free schools across 18 states of India, providing free education to more than 39,200 children in the slum, tribal and rural belts where child labor and poverty are widespread.
Google was pleased by the honesty and kindness of the Indian-American student and has doubled the reward money to be given to the charity.
"I still love the company, and what it does and stand[s] for," Ved told the Huffington Post through a LinkedIn message. "It was very kind of them to offer double the reward since it was going to charity."
