Tipsheet

"Hack the Pentagon" Program Open for Registration

Interested in taking your computer hacking skills to the next level?  Then sign right up and test your skills by hacking into the DOD's database.  

The Pentagon is announcing the opening of registration for its pilot program "Hack the Pentagon," designed to identify and resolve security vulnerabilities within Defense Department websites through crowdsourcing.

"This initiative will put the department's cybersecurity to the test in an innovative, but responsible way," Defense Secretary Ash Carter said of the program. "I encourage hackers who want to bolster our digital defenses to join the competition and take their best shot."

The "Hack the Pentagon" bug bounty pilot accompanied by HackerOne, a reputable bug-bounty-as-a-service firm based out of California’s Silicon Valley, will start April 18 and end by May 12.

“The program will target several DOD public websites which will be identified to the participants as the beginning of the challenge approaches,” Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook said. “Critical, mission-facing computer systems will not be involved in the program.”

Individual bounty payments will depend on a number of factors, he said, but will come from the $150,000 in funding for the program.