The Department of Homeland Security has concluded the first phase of its inaugural Hack DHS bug bounty program, with $125,600 in prizes awarded to successful cybersecurity researchers.
The DHS said Friday 450 participating ethical hackers identified 122 cybersecurity vulnerabilities within select external agency systems, with 27 considered by officials as critical weaknesses.
The second phase of Hack DHS will focus on in-person hacking while the third and final phase will involve informing future bug bounty programs.
Launched in December, the three-phase Hack DHS is designed to provide a template other organizations can use for improving their respective cybersecurity resilience.
“Hack DHS underscores our Department’s commitment to lead by example and protect our nation’s networks and infrastructure from evolving cybersecurity threats,” explained DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, a previous Wash100 Award winner.
Related Articles
The Senate on Saturday voted 59-35 to confirm Sean Cairncross, a former Republican National Committee official, as the next national cyber director. With his confirmation, Cairncross succeeds Harry Coker as head of the White House Office of the National Cyber Director. In this capacity, he will serve as the principal adviser to the U.S. president on cybersecurity strategy and policy in relation to the coordination of information security and data protection; efforts to deter malicious cyber activity; and programs and policies meant to improve the U.S. cybersecurity posture, among others. In February, President Donald Trump nominated Cairncross to the role.
Edward Forst has been nominated by President Donald Trump as the next administrator of the General Services Administration, succeeding Robin Carnahan, who resigned in January after serving for nearly four years. The White House announced the nomination on Sunday. Who Is Edward Forst? Forst is a seasoned executive and investor with vast experience in the global financial services and real estate industries. He most recently served as chairman of London-based private equity firm Lion Capital for three years. He was also the CEO of Cushman & Wakefield from 2013 to 2015. He spent 17 years at Goldman Sachs serving various senior executive
The Senate voted on Thursday 53-44 to confirm Matthew Kozma as the new undersecretary of the Department of Homeland Security for intelligence and analysis. In his role, Kozma would manage the Office of Intelligence and Analysis, which detects and addresses domestic and international threats, cyber risks and evolving national security issues, Homeland Security Today reported. He will lead the intelligence efforts to ensure the sharing of threat information between federal, state and local agencies. Find out more about the challenges and opportunities of the agency at the Potomac Officers Club 2025 Homeland Security Summit on November 12. Get insights into