REP LIEU’S HACK DHS BILL PASSES CONGRESS, HEADS TO PRESIDENT’S DESK

WASHINGTON – Today, Congressman Ted W. Lieu (D-Los Angeles County) issued the following statement after the Senate passed H.R. 7327, a bill package that includes the Hack the Department of Homeland Security Act. The bill would establish a bug bounty pilot program – modeled off of similar programs at the Department of Defense and major tech companies. The program will strengthen cyber defenses at DHS by utilizing "white-hat" or ethical hackers to help identify unique and undiscovered vulnerabilities in the DHS networks and data systems. Reps. Lieu and Scott Taylor (R-VA) introduced the House version, which passed in September. The bill will now travel to the President's desk to be signed into law.

"As a computer science major, I am thrilled the Senate has passed their version of the Hack DHS Act that I introduced with Rep. Taylor in 2017. By sending this bill to the President's desk, Congress is signaling that it takes our government's cybersecurity seriously. Bug bounty programs have proven to be critical to enhancing cybersecurity protections in the private sector and at the Pentagon. Expanding this program to DHS will fortify our nation's defenses against cyber security attacks. In the 21st Century, we need to utilize all the tools available to fight cyber threats."

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