Portman, Hassan Celebrate Senate Passage of DHS Bug Bounty Bill

Sens. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, and Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., celebrated unanimous passage of the Hack the Department of Homeland Security Act (S-1281/HR-2774) in the Senate Tuesday. The bill would create a DHS “bug bounty pilot program” modeled after private sector and DOD efforts. The program would reward “ethical hackers to help identify unique and undiscovered vulnerabilities in the DHS networks and information technology.” Portman said such programs have shown “promising results” in government. Reps. Ted Lieu, D-Calif., and Scott Taylor, R-Va., have introduced companion legislation.