Around 1,400 whitehat (ethical) hackers participated in the
Hack the Pentagon program and were awarded up to $15,000 for
disclosures of the most destructive vulnerabilities in DoDs
networks, Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said at a
technology forum on Friday.
"They are helping us to be more secure at a fraction of the
cost," Carter
said. "And in a way that enlists the brilliance of the
white hatters, rather than waits to learn the lessons of the
black hatters."
The
Hack the Pentagon program, hosted on bug bounty platform
HackerOne, was opened between April 18 and May 12, 2016. All
participants were required to qualify a background check.
Although hackers and bug hunters were permitted to hack
the agency's web properties, critical and highly
sensitive systems of the Pentagon were out of bounds for
the bounty program.
When the Hack the Pentagon was initially announced in
March, Carter said he believed this effort would "strengthen
our digital defenses and ultimately enhance our national
security." And yes, it did.