A Nebraska bill would hire a hacker to probe the state’s computer, elections systems
LINCOLN, Neb.– One state lawmaker wants Nebraska to take steps to protect the country from cyberattacks. His answer? Hire your own hacker.
Sen. Loren Lippincott introduced a bill to the Legislature’s government committee Thursday that would give the Nebraska State Patrol $200,000 to hire “an ethical hacker.” The hacker spent his or her days trying to break into the state’s computer network, as well as election equipment and software, to find any vulnerabilities in those systems.
Lippincott said he got the idea from a cousin of his who did similar work. The Legislature’s staff found no other states that have hired independent hackers, although Missouri has hired a company that employs “white hat hackers” to provide that service.
“We hope to lead the way,” Lippincott said.
His bill would also allow hiring a security firm that would allow hackers to find weaknesses in the state system.
Security challenges for state and local election officials across the country continue to mount, including potential cyberattacks by foreign governments, criminal ransomware gangs, and election misinformation that has led to intimidation of election officials and undermined public trust.
Lippincott introduced the bill in response to FBI Director Christopher Wray’s warning that Chinese government hackers are targeting critical U.S. infrastructure, including water treatment plants, the electrical grid and transportation systems.
The hearing on the bill in Nebraska also took place on the same day that the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency launched a program aimed at increasing election security in the states and following a recent cyberattack on government operations in Georgia, which left some has created electoral challenges in the run-up to that state’s elections. Presidential primaries in March.
“This idea is that an ethical hacker can find vulnerabilities that can be fixed before they can be exploited by bad actors,” Lippincott said. “They can say, ‘Here’s the hole in the dike.’”
Lippincott’s hacker hiring bill is accompanied by an $11 million cybersecurity bill also presented to the committee Thursday that would give the state’s chief information officer, local governments and school districts more ability to strengthen cybersecurity by the purchase of security software and hardware, training and preparedness. to drill.
The bills attracted a handful of supporters and no opponents during Thursday’s hearing. The committee will decide in the coming days whether the proposals will be brought forward. If they were to advance, they would have to survive three rounds of debate before passage in Nebraska’s unique unicameral legislature.