This pilot program is known as “Hack the Pentagon”, which kicked off on Monday, and will continue until the 12th of May. During this particular period of time, hackers are more than welcome to attack select Department of Defense public websites in order to identify cyber security weaknesses.
U.S. officials have stressed that they are not going to involve any kind of sensitive “mission-facing” computer systems throughout the program, and also mentioned that all hackers will first need to go through a background check, in addition to other kinds of qualifications, of course. In the event that any security flaws can be exposed, then the hackers will be able to pick up cash rewards.
Katie Moussouris, a consultant who asissted the Pentagon to launch the bug bounty, has hailed this pilot program to be a significant shift in cyber security strategy, and rather than to punish hackers, they will make an attempt to work alongside them.