Three congressmen – Ted Lieu (D - CA), Ted Yoho (R – FL) and Brad Sherman (D – CA) – introduced a bill that would invite cybersecurity researchers to probe the State Department’s information technology for previously undiscovered vulnerabilities. The “Hack Your State Department Act” would, if adopted, require that the State Department (1) create a vulnerability disclosure process to provide researchers with guidelines on the rules of engagement for scrutinizing the agency’s information technology and (2) establish a bug bounty pilot program that would provide a monetary reward to persons for discovering a previously unknown cybersecurity flaw. A similar bounty program for the Department of Homeland Security was signed into law late last year. (Click here for details in Sec. 102 of the Strengthening and Enhancing Cyber-capabilities by Utilizing Risk Exposure Technology Act of 2018.)