The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has launched a new bug bounty program dubbed ‘Hack DHS’ that allows vetted cybersecurity researchers to discover and report security vulnerabilities in external DHS systems.
The Hack DHS bug bounty program will occur in three phases throughout Fiscal Year 2022. During the first phase, researchers will perform remote vulnerability assessments on certain DHS external systems. In the second phase, the experts will participate in a live, in-person hacking event and in the third phase, DHS will identify and review lessons learned, and plan for future bug bounties.
Hack DHS will use a platform created by the Department’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), and will be monitored by the DHS Office of the Chief Information Officer.
The participants of the Hack DHS will receive rewards between $500 and $5,000 for the issues reported issue based on its severity.
The researchers are required to disclose their findings to DHS system owners and leadership, including details such as what the vulnerability is, how they exploited it, and how it might allow other actors to access information. The bounty for identifying each bug is determined by using a sliding scale, with hackers earning the highest bounties for identifying the most severe bugs.
The Hack DHS program is designed to motivate highly skilled hackers to identify cybersecurity weaknesses in the DHS systems before they can be exploited by bad actors. This program is an example that shows how the Department is partnering with the community to help protect the Nation’s cybersecurity.
Image Credits : Homeland Security
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