
In a 377-3 bipartisan vote, the U.S. House of Representatives has passed H.R. 238, the “Hack Your State Department Act.” If this bill becomes law, the U.S. State Department would have one year to establish a pilot “bug bounty program” under which qualified security researchers or “ethical hackers” would be temporarily authorized to identify and report vulnerabilities of State Department networks and systems in exchange for compensation. The State Department would first have to adopt guidelines for qualifications and other requirements for participating in the program.
In addition, the bill would provide for the State Department to provide annual reporting on various items, including the number and severity of security vulnerabilities that are reported, the number of previously unidentified security vulnerabilities that are remediated as a result of the bug bounty program and general lessons learned from the program. The Department of Defense launched a similar “Hack the Pentagon” program in 2016.
The text of the bill is available here. Contact us at Ossian Law regarding any information technology law question.
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UPCOMING PRESENTATIONS & WORKSHOPS “Avoiding Legal Issues Online” Armenian Bar Association CLE Program Thursday, February 28th 6:00 p.m. — Taxman, Pollock, Murray and Bekkerman, LLC 225 W. Wacker Dr., Ste. 1750 Chicago, IL 60606 – Who’s Borrowing Your Brand Online? – Ownership and Control of Digital Assets – Key Clauses in Technology Agreements (online and off) This session by Information Technology Attorney Kathy Ossian explores brand protection online including brand hijacking, social media impersonation and strategies regarding domain names. Also covered is ownership and control of digital assets, including ownership of corporate social media and other online accounts and the interplay with platform terms and policies. Finally, key clauses in technology agreements will be addressed from both the tech provider and user perspectives. Register by phone or email: 312-586-1707; hhimidian@tpblegal.com _____________________________________ “Copyrights in the Digital Age” Thursday, March 21 — noon to 1:30 PM Law Librarians of Metro Detroit Miller Canfield, 150 W. Jefferson Ave., Suite 2500, Detroit, Michigan 48226 ______________________________________ “The Expanded Scope of the Computer Fraud & Abuse Act: It’s Not Just For Hackers Anymore” Friday, April 12th — 1:00 to 2:00 PM DCON 2019 Baker College, 1500 University Dr., Auburn Hills, Michigan 48326 Registration and information available here. ______________________________________ “Cyber Insurance: A Legal, Practical Look” Tuesday, June 25 — 6:00 to 7:30 PM ISC2 Greater Detroit Chapter Tek Systems, 26100 Northwestern Highway, Suite 700, Southfield, Michigan 48076 Registration available soon! Have a suggestion for a future IT Law Alert or presentation topic? Let us know here |