US Homeland Security Will Reward Up To $5,000 For Hacking Its Server
Image ID 231411191 © via Danielfela | Dreamstime.com
The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has announced it will be offering up to US$5,000 for “bug bounties” under its new program, Hack DHS.
The agency will invite expert security researchers to access its external systems, in an attempt to flush out vulnerabilities that could be potentially exploited by nefarious hackers. According to Engadget, participants will be rewarded between US$500 and US$5,000 for each bug found, depending on its severity.
While the bounty offered by the DHS isn’t anywhere as grand as the private sector’s six-figure payouts, it’ll only be limited to select participants, instead of being open to hackers worldwide.
“As the federal government’s cybersecurity quarterback, DHS must lead by example and constantly seek to strengthen the security of our own systems,” explained DHS Secretary, Alejandro N Mayorkars.
“The Hack DHS program incentivizes highly-skilled hackers to identify cybersecurity weaknesses in our systems before they can be exploited by bad actors.“
Participants will start off by conducting a virtual assessment of the DHS systems, before a live, in-person hacking event takes place for the second phase of the program. Finally, the DHS will analyze the findings to “identify and review lessons learned, and plan for future bug bounties.”
Mayorkas detailed at Bloomberg’s Technology Summit that in 2021, the DHS experienced four times as many cyberattacks as the previous year. He did note that while the overall number of attacks rose significantly, some of the most dangerous hacker groups were spotted less.
“Some of the major players we haven’t seen as active as previously. That doesn’t mean that they’ve gone away, that we’ve defeated them. They very well might have hit the pause button. Vigilance has to remain at an incredibly high level,” he warned.
[via Engadget, cover image via Danielfela | Dreamstime.com]
Also check out these recent news
