Ethical Hackers To Help Howard County Ward Off Cybercriminals

HOWARD COUNTY, MD — Officials have launched the first in Vulnerability Disclosure Program in the state for Howard County residents.

The VDP functions as a digital neighborhood watch, enabling external parties to report vulnerabilities securely, Howard County officials said.

When an individual finds a vulnerability and publicly discloses it, they alert everyone - including cybercriminals - to the vulnerability, officials said. When a vulnerability is directly brought to the organization for remediation instead, staff can prioritize the bug, develop a patch and notify the finders on their terms, officials added.

“Howard County is dedicated to ensuring our residents and businesses are safe, including being leaders in cybersecurity,” said Howard County Executive Calvin Ball. “In Howard County, we prioritize and invest in cybersecurity to ensure systems are in place to protect our residents and governmental operations to minimize disruptions. As a county government, we have IT systems across various domains, including life safety, water treatment, elections support, waste reclamation, recreation and parks, and more. Each mission presents its own set of unique challenges. With the launch of this program, we are taking one step further in protecting from vulnerabilities.”

The VDP partners with ethical hackers at HackerOne to receive vulnerability reports, prioritize them and remediate vulnerabilities, county officials said.