Want To Hack The Pentagon?

Want To Hack The Pentagon?

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The US Department of Defence (DoD) has announced that it’s accepting applications for its “Hack the Pentagon” initiative. This would be the first time a US government agency set up this sort of programme, though they are common among large organisations seeking to find holes in their security.

To be clear, this programme isn’t open to just anyone. Potential hackers will be subject to vetting and clearance procedures before they can take on the Pentagon’s cyber defences. Each applicant must be eligible to work in the US, can’t be featured on drug trafficking and terrorism lists, nor can the hopeful be a resident of any country subject to US trade sanctions.

Through the programme, the Pentagon hopes to improve the security of its networks, products, and digital services. The DoD hopes that fresh minds, especially those used to finding exploits in computer systems, will be able to locate weaknesses and vulnerabilities that eluded the Pentagon’s own computer experts.

“Bringing in the best talent, technology and processes from the private sector not only helps us deliver comprehensive, more secure solutions to the DoD, but it also helps us better protect our country,” said DDS Director and technology entrepreneur Chris Lynch in a statement.

Such programmes are operated by many major organisations and corporations, and include the bug bounty programmes by Microsoft, Google, and most of the tech giants. For this project, the Pentagon partnered with bug bounty specialists HackerOne to launch the pilot programme, which will run from 18 April to 12 may.

Successful bug-finders and hackers will be rewarded for their efforts from the $150,000 budget allocated for the project. How much they can hope to win, however, is not clear, as individual amounts depend on factors that have not been disclosed, according to the DoD release on the matter. Qualifying bounties will be announced by 10 June.