The Department of Defense is broadening a program that pays people to break into its websites and find security vulnerabilities.
The initial program, called Hack the Pentagon, uncovered almost 140 bugs and resulted in a total payout of more than $70,000.
According to
The Hill, the Pentagon is expanding the program to include hacks against all DOD systems and defense contractors.
Hack the Pentagon had 1,410 vetted computer security experts try to break into five DOD websites. The program ran from April 18-May 12.
Programs like this are common in the private sector, but
Hack the Pentagon was the first time it had taken place on federal government computer systems.
"Although the pilot was a success, it only tested the crowdsourced security concept against public facing websites,"
a statement from the Pentagon reads. "We believe the concept will be successful when applied to many or all of DOD's other security challenges."
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