The Department of Defense (DoD) announced Thursday that interested participants may now register to compete in the “Hack the Pentagon” pilot.
The pilot, designed to identify and resolve security vulnerabilities within DoD websites through crowdsourcing, is the first bug bounty program in the history of the federal government. The registration site is now live and can be accessed at https://www.hackerone.com/resources/hack-the-pentagon.
The official bug bounty program will start on Monday, April 18 and end by Thursday, May 12.
And DoD is offering cash for successful hacks. Individual bounty payments will depend on a number of factors, but will come from the $150,000 in funding for the program. Qualifying bounties will be issued no later than Friday, June 10.
“This initiative will put the department’s cybersecurity to the test in an innovative but responsible way,” said Secretary Carter. “I encourage hackers who want to bolster our digital defenses to join the competition and take their best shot.”
Remember, you must register and submit to a background check to compete. The vulnerability identification and analysis is limited to the department’s public webpages.
The “Hack the Pentagon” initiative is being led by the department’s Defense Digital Service (DDS), launched by Secretary Carter last November. The DDS, an arm of the White House’s dynamic cadre of technology experts at the U.S. Digital Service, includes a small team of engineers and data experts meant to improve the department’s technological agility.
