Hacking the Pentagon could ea you some cash - CNET

Think you could hack your way into the Pentagon? A new competition will challenge qualified security pros to do just that.

A project known as "Hack the Pentagon" will dare vetted hackers to break into some public websites of the US Department of Defense as a way of testing the security of those sites, the DOD announced on Wednesday. Part of a pilot program, the initiative will be the first "cyber bug bounty" offered by the US govement.

The challenge borrows the bug bounty concept from the private sector. Many companies offer money and other rewards to hackers who discover bugs and security flaws that could put users at risk. Facebook, for example, said it paid $936,000 to 210 researchers in 2015 who disclosed bugs.

Due to launch in April, the govement's bug bounty pilot will be the first in a series of programs aimed at hunting down weaknesses in the DOD's applications, networks and websites, according to the DOD.

Cyberattacks have been a growing problem for the US in recent years with hackers breaking into key govement sites, including the Pentagon. As hackers use more sophisticated methods, the US needs to find more innovative ways to shore up its cybersecurity defenses to protect critical information from falling into the hands of terrorists, rogue nations and other unfriendly parties.