Senators Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., and Rob Portmann, R-Ohio have introduced a bill that would create a bug bounty program for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

However, security experts are warning that participants need to be properly vetted.

DHS is looking for white hat hackers who will test the website and network for vulnerabilities. Similar programs were instituted with the Department of Defense, Hack the Air Force and Hack the Army. In each situation, the hackers discovered flaws that allowed the agencies to tighten up their security.

Rob Portmann said it is a matter of national security and every avenue to improve the country's defenses needs to be explored.

“One step to do that is using an important tool from the private sector: incentivizing ethical hackers to find vulnerabilities before others do. I look forward to working with Senator Hassan to move this bipartisan bill forward and helping protect DHS from cyber threats,” he said.

Cybersecurity researcher Graham Cluley, writing for Tripwire, called the program a sensible, proactive move. “My expectation is that we will see more and more public sector organizations and private companies recognize the benefits of working closely with ethical hackers and penetration testers.”

Source: SCMagazine