Uncle Sam wants 'ethical hackers' to crack its planetary defenses, but don't expect a pay-day from this bug bounty

The United States' Department of Defense has opened up all of its publicly facing systems and apps to investigation under a bug bounty program. In a massive expansion of its Vulnerability Disclosure Program, started in 2016, the DoD said it was looking for "ethical hackers" to look for flaws and fixes. The bug bounty system …

[Chris G]

The prawn of doubt

The Pentagon would like ethical hackers to test and provide fixes for their leaky IT boat out of the goodness of their patriotic hearts while eating prawn an lobster salads and putting said ethical hackers onto a list of potential persons of interest?

The Pentagon are expecting to spend something like $733 billion this year and they can't find a few pennies for bug bounties?

[Michael Wojcik]

Re: The prawn of doubt

Sure, everyone comes down on the Strategic Lobster Initiative, but it's the major justification for the National Melted Butter Reserve program, and if Congress cancels that we're all in trouble.

[Anonymous Coward]

US Inland Revenue Service?

Er? Never heard of it. There is however, a US Internal Revenue Service.

[Yet Another Anonymous coward]

Re: US Inland Revenue Service?

The inland revenue service was set up to be safe from pirates

[Korev]

Re: US Inland Revenue Service?

Looking at what happened to the biology lab that's not a bad thing...

[Gene Cash]

Re: US Inland Revenue Service?

Arrrr, ye matey, avast an have yer angry upvote!

[bombastic bob]

Re: US Inland Revenue Service?

The I.R.S. doesn't like tax evasion much. So if anyone bought and sold a lot of bitcoin and made real money on it, and did NOT declare all that on the tax forms [it's considered "foreign currency" and apparently has a special place to declare it, though i always use tax software that just asks me about it], then the IRS will be wanting to find out how much money you made and bill you for the unpaid tax, with interest and a LOT of penalties. Yeah, they do that.

[amanfromMars 1]

Re: US Inland Revenue Service?

How very clearly, openly parasitic of the I.R.S., bombastic bob.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: US Inland Revenue Service?

OTOH, if your cryptocurrency went bust, you should be able to deduct that, assuming you have capital gains on your other investments. No other investments? Quel dommage.

[amanfromMars 1]

Re: US Inland Revenue Service/HMRC?

The I.R.S./HMRC doesn't like tax evasion much. So if anyone bought and sold a lot of bitcoin and made real money on it, and did NOT declare all that on the tax forms [it's considered "foreign currency" and apparently has a special place to declare it, though i always use tax software that just asks me about it], then the IRS/HMRC will be wanting to find out how much money you made and bill you for the unpaid tax, with interest and a LOT of penalties. Yeah, they do that.

OTOH, if your cryptocurrency went bust, you should be able to deduct that, assuming you have capital gains on your other investments. No other investments? Quel dommage. .....bombastic bob and HildyJ

True or false? And be there perilous phantom pirates all at sea there? Who be they?

What does your simple common sense and plain logic tell you?

[amanfromMars 1]

Re: US Inland Revenue Service/HMRC?

It is nice to know what's in store for any novel rewarding success, so it can be suitably dealt with and/or circumvented.

[amanfromMars 1]

What's not to Like for the LOVE of Global Operating Devices?

Uncle Sam wants 'ethical hackers' to crack its planetary defenses, but don't expect a pay-day from this bug bounty.

The granting with assumptive acceptance of political asylum for crack hackers with Immunity from any possible prosecution and wilful persecution and resistance to Immunity for Applications, is practically all that Uncle SamSon Systems are required to Accept as the Guaranteed Correct Assumption to be made in all such cases/instances for Advanced IntelAIgent Realities ...... with Novel Noble Enabling Secret Services Provided ...... for them to Exercise Prime Primary Premium Lead with Cracking App Hacks to Supply and Mentor and Monitor.

Methinks that's worthy an absolute fortune many a billionaire investor would love to pay dearly for.

In that particular specific case, less is not more, and rewards delivered are geared to the amounts of investment lodged and resting and granting Investees Ready Access to Applications for Interestingly Strange Accounts with ExtraTerrestrial Views for Advanced IntelAIgent News Presentation ....... Virtually Real MetaPhysical, Secure Data Base Production.

For the Provision of Pure RAW Future Core Source Facilities and Capabilities/Utility.

A Stellar Business Opportunity to JOINT Venture in, for Any and All with more Flash Cash/Magic Credit than anyone would ever need or wish for.

[amanfromMars 1]

Re: What's not to Like for the LOVE of Global Operating Devices?

00ps ...... that was supposed to say and be read as ......." The granting with assumptive acceptance of apolitical asylum for .......etc etc" ..... although quite whether the "political" typo/autonomous correction makes any meaningful difference would be debatable, if you were inclined to think that it did, rather than didn't, and cared enough about such to engage in discussions with more than oneself about a vain disagreement prepared to oppose and/or compete against rapid positive progress being made elsewhere by Broad Bonded Bands of Significant A.N.Others.

It is a common enough curse though that afflicts all Primitives of/in any Age, since long before ever even Time and Space and Celestial and Terrestrial Life began to be Presented Later in the Future and Relayed by Alternative Mass Media Operating SMARTR Virtual Machinery in an ACTive AIdDynamic Fluid Infrastructure for Live Operational Virtual Environments in which to Excel to Share to Excess in the Beneficial Fields that greatly support and handsomely reward Honest Work, Pleasant REST and Satisfyingly Exciting Play. And a right fcuk up of a doozy because of that, a surely avoidable unnecessary hinderance and self-imposed hurdle to fail at and fall over.

[s_simp]

Re: What's not to Like for the LOVE of Global Operating Devices?

Pfft so Uncle Sam still hasn't figured it out that only two things came out of Berkeley - LSD & Unix and neither was an accident! Intellectual Hippies!

[amanfromMars 1]

Re: What's not to Like for the LOVE of Global Operating Devices?

Pfft so Uncle Sam still hasn't figured it out that only two things came out of Berkeley - LSD & Unix and neither was an accident! Intellectual Hippies!...... s_simp

The crack Uncle Sam is on and addicted to has rotted and addled his brain and destroyed all of his power and energy. Helter Skelter Yuppies!

[steven_t]

Why does the Pentagon spend more on seafood than bug bounties?

Because they're shellfish.

[Korev]

Re: Why does the Pentagon spend more on seafood than bug bounties?

Do they run clamav too?

[SotarrTheWizard]

Re: Why does the Pentagon spend more on seafood than bug bounties?

Sounds phishy to me. . . .

[Yet Another Anonymous coward]

Re: Why does the Pentagon spend more on seafood than bug bounties?

They have lots of boats and lots of sailors

If they bought some fishing rods couldn't they be self-sufficient?

(Possibly challenging on a submarine)

[Pascal Monett]

"The US DoD has opened up all of its publicly facing systems and apps to investigation"

I'm sure the FSB will help with gleeful abandon.

They might not give much feedback, though.

[sanmigueelbeer]

Re: "The US DoD has opened up all of its publicly facing systems and apps to investigation"

I'm sure the FSB will help with gleeful abandon

Don't be a snob. </jk>

The Iranians, Chinese and NK want "in" on this too.

[Michael Wojcik]

Re: "The US DoD has opened up all of its publicly facing systems and apps to investigation"

They don't need to.

These systems are publicly-facing, so they're already "open" to state-sponsored actors and other professionals. "Opening" these systems in a case like this just means "we won't hassle you if you look for vulnerabilities".

Since publicly-facing systems are already under attack (all of them, constantly), there's nothing new here as far as the professionals are concerned. And, of course, by logging attacks and feeding those logs into SIEM / UEBA systems, you learn some information about your attackers.

[s_simp]

I'm sure the FSB will help with gleeful abandon.

I confess, that made me laugh till my sides hurt!

The FSB has an Owl with a big pair of eye's!

[Claptrap314]

It's not your users

Wait. Didn't I mention this last week?

<sigh> For crying in ---------->