WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The legislation is modeled after tech companies’ bug bounty programs. Corporations like Google, Facebook, Amazon and Apple allow ethical hackers to probe the vendor’s systems or networks and provide monetary rewards for each vulnerability discovered, the release noted.
"Federal agencies like DHS are under assault every day from cyberattacks," the release stated. "The Hack DHS Act provides this help by drawing upon an untapped resource — patriotic and ethical hackers across the country who want to stop these threats before they endanger their fellow citizens."
The activities occur under an agreement that the vendors will not seek criminal charges against the hacker so long as the hackers abide by a set of predetermined rules.
The Hack DHS Act would establish a DHS bug bounty program based on a similar Department of Defense pilot program, according to the release.
