The Cybersecurity 202: Lawmakers are ready to embrace ethical hackers, even if DHS isn’t
The Washington Post – Derek Hawkins
The House Homeland Security Committee advanced a pair of bipartisan bills late last week that would force the Department of Homeland Security to open the door to security researchers to probe the agency for cybersecurity vulnerabilities. DHS has resisted such a move, but lawmakers are ready to force the agencyâs hand, saying independent testing is an important step toward improving its cyber hygiene.

One bill, called the Hack DHS Act, would create a bug bounty pilot program that would pay security researchers to root out bugs in the agencyâs networks. The other would require DHS to set up a vulnerability disclosure policy that protects ethical hackers from legal action if they find a security flaw and report it responsibly. Both cruised through the committee with bipartisan support. Lawmakers are frustrated that DHS, the governmentâs main cybersecurity agency, isnât leading the charge on these efforts — or even showing it’s serious about creating one.
Link: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/paloma/the-cybersecurity-202/2018/09/19/the-cybersecurity-202-lawmakers-are-ready-to-embrace-ethical-hackers-even-if-dhs-isn-t/5ba12d481b326b47ec9596d9/?n