Company
Date Published
Author
Casey Ellis
Word count
488
Language
English
Hacker News points
None

Summary

The US government has significantly adopted Vulnerability Disclosure Programs (VDPs) through initiatives like Hack the Pentagon and DHS/OMB's BOD 20-01, demonstrating tangible benefits of collaboration with ethical hackers. These programs have guided agencies toward proactive vulnerability management, creating industry-wide ripple effects. A new bill, H.R. 872, The Federal Contractor Cybersecurity Vulnerability Reduction Act of 2025, has garnered bipartisan support and mandates VDP adoption through DFARS procurement requirements, ensuring comprehensive adoption once enacted. This requirement will create powerful motivation for businesses to adopt standardized processes, leveraging guidelines like NIST and ISO 29147/30111, to simplify compliance and remain competitive in federal contracting. The bill's passage is seen as a vital step in promoting the role of good-faith security research in cybersecurity, fostering deeper collaboration between ethical hackers and traditional security teams, with organizations looking to proactively incorporate vulnerability disclosure into their security strategy.