back to article Hack the planet, er, Pentagon: US Dept of Defense puts bounties on bugs

The Pentagon will next month launch the US government's first bug bounty program encouraging hackers to break into its websites in what could lead to a broader invitation to hack state assets for cash. Details on the cash rewards offered under the 'Hack the Pentagon' program have not yet been released. it will use "commercial …

  1. amanfromMars 1 Silver badge

    Whoever plays by stupid rules and regulations nowadays whenever smarter admin systems exist ‽

    The program will be restricted in scope so that hackers can target defined assets and not mission-critical systems.

    Good luck with that.

    Is there a Gareth Williams booby prize ?

  2. allthecoolshortnamesweretaken

    There may be a copyright infringement issue due to prior art by China and Russia though.

  3. Dan 55 Silver badge

    Wanted: lambs for slaughter

    Volunteers don't need a bug bounty, they need a Darwin award.

  4. cbars Bronze badge

    Gary McKinnon

    Must be incredulous

  5. Venaax

    Smoke and mirrors... testing the banner, the poster placed on the internet... and probably not what actually matters.

    1. cbars Bronze badge

      The ability to pivot from these infection points and move laterally through networks means that for the majority of enterprises, web servers can't be regarded as "posters"; the analagy just doesn't hold water any more.

      Whether that's the case here is debatable, you'd expect the pentagon to have an isolated network specifically for this purpose. Still, good practice for the white hats, I can't find much to criticise about this move. If it leads the way to widespread penetrating testing then all the better. I'm looking at you Oracle.

  6. Known Hero

    Q: Well were not allowed to spy on everybody all the time now, what do we do?

    A: I know !! Lets get people to sign themselves up to our watch list :)

    1. amanfromMars 1 Silver badge

      Nail meets Hammer, Known Hero ? :-)

      Q: Well were (sic) not allowed to spy on everybody all the time now, what do we do?

      A: I know !! Lets get people to sign themselves up to our watch list :) … Known Hero

      Quite so, Known Hero, such is a distinct possibility and therefore most likely probability

      And good luck with step one in “Hacking the Pentagon” … https://reg.dtic.mil/DTICRegistration/index?tac=DTIC …. which probably will return …..

      We apologize, but an unexpected error occurred processing your request.

      We have contacted our support personnel to investigate the issue

      1. MrDamage Silver badge

        Re: Nail meets Hammer, Known Hero ? :-)

        That actually made sense. Who are you, and what have you done to amanfromMars?

  7. Graham Marsden
    Black Helicopters

    Mao's Hundred Flowers Campaign

    In the 1950s Chairman Mao announced the Hundred Flowers Campaign inviting the people to express their opinions and criticisms of the regime.

    Subsequently the people who spoke out were rounded up and sent to Labour Re-education Camps...

  8. ratfox

    So what are the requirements?

    I suppose you need to be natural-born American, have a security clearance, and have worked for the government for ten years?

    1. amanfromMars 1 Silver badge

      Re: So what are the requirements?

      I suppose you need to be natural-born American, have a security clearance, and have worked for the government for ten years? ... rat fox

      That collection of requirements certainly guarantees continuing failure to engage with and/or influence greater global intelligence game changers with courses of action and proaction with HyperRadioProActive IT which can be designed to help the incestuous of mind and ignorant of imaginative power and bereft of Novel Intellectual Property.

      Einstein said it best when one remembers to never forget ....... Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

  9. Robin Bradshaw
    Trollface

    PLA Unit 61398 are going to make a mint in bountys.

    Clearance shouldn't be too hard for them as they already have the OPM database. :)

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