The Department of Homeland Security has a big job. Not only does the agency work to protect the United States from physical threats, but it’s also become a self-described “quarterback” in the effort to stave off cyber attacks as well.
And as the team lead, the DHS is hoping a new program will help ferret out vulnerabilities with the help of a group of hand-picked hackers.
That’s right, DHS is enlisting a team of highly skilled cybersecurity researchers to take a crack at its external systems and find weaknesses that could be exploited. In exchange, the agency will offer what’s called a “bug bounty,” AKA, specific payments as a reward for the find. According to reports, the bounties will range from $500 to $5,000 depending on the severity of the security flaws being discovered.
As Engadget points out, private businesses have been offering their own bug bounty-type programs for years, allowing some hackers to hit major paydirt. For example, Apple’s bounty program — which it made open to anyone in 2019 — has offered payouts as high as $1 million.
At this year’s Bloomberg Technology Summit, DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas reportedly stated that “Vigilance has to remain at an incredibly high level.” He said that attacks were up four-fold in 2021, and while some of the more dangerous players had slowed down in their activity, he doesn’t believe they’re gone, rather, they may “have hit the pause button.”
"Hack DHS” will occur in three phases throughout this next year. According to a press release issued by the department, one goal of the program will also be to develop a model that can be used by other organizations across every level of government.
Expanding this at the federal level will mimic what’s been going on quietly among private sector companies over the years. In fact, if you’re interested in an exhaustive list of the hundreds of companies that offer bug bounties to the interested public, visit BugCrowd.com. It could make for a pretty lucrative side hustle.
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