The Canadian military is offering $637,000 to anyone who hacks and then improves the defenses of a military vehicle, a pickup truck, used by its forces to transport troops and equipment.
On Tuesday, October 6, the Canadian Department of National Defence issued a public notice of competition seeking security contractors (technical). Applications will be accepted until October 27.
Contractors will have to hack into one of its vehicles, and optionally, at the request of the military, provide patches and security fixes for the car.
The announcement does not give details about the type of vehicle that the hackers-contractors have to break into (bypass the security), but CBC News, a Canadian television station, reports that it is a 2015 truck, which is the technical details and specifications that will remain secret until the investigation is complete.
According to the official specifications of the project assignment, hackers will be asked to:
- Describe a self-propelled vehicle
- Find vulnerabilities and security measures
- Develop and demonstrate exploits
- Conducting Synthesis
- Identify possible security measures that could prevent hacking of vehicle vulnerabilities
- Test the security measures
- Develop a test platform with some vehicle functions for the laboratory study
- Develop control procedures
- Evaluate vehicle safety standards and protocols
- Develop standard security procedures in cyberspace
The Canadian government will provide $158,000 (CAD 205,000) for hacking the car and an additional $479,000 (CAD 620,000) for the subsequent security update of the code.
