Imagine this: A man in his late 20s â wearing sweat pants and a wrinkled T-shirt â sits in front of what looks to be a high-end computer and types rapidly on the keyboard.
A half-eaten bag of Cheetos can be seen near the computer on his desk, as well as a 2-liter bottle of Mountain Dew. The man, who needs a shave, might have a receding hairline, but itâs hard to tell because of the stocking cap heâs wearing.
We soon hear an older womanâs voice, calling down to her son in the basement of the home. Itâs dinner time, she informs him.
âMa, I donât have time for dinner,â he replies with a touch of exasperation at being interrupted. âThe State of Nebraska is depending on me!â
OK, OK â that scenario is replete with unfair stereotypes. But itâs kind of fun to envision such a scene â no matter how inaccurate â given the introduction of a bill in the Nebraska Legislature that calls for the state to protect itself from cyberattacks by hiring its own hacker.
State Sen. Loren Lippincott of Central City recently presented a bill to the Legislatureâs government committee that would give the Nebraska State Patrol $200,000 to hire what the bill describes as âan ethical hacker.â
Under Legislative Bill 1303, the individual in question would spend his or her days trying to break into the stateâs computer network, as well as election equipment and software, to find any vulnerabilities in those systems. His bill also would allow hiring a security company that provides hackers to find weaknesses in the stateâs system.
âThis individual, equipped with specialized knowledge and skills, will serve as a vigilant sentinel, constantly monitoring, detecting and thwarting potential cyber instructions and attacks,â the senator said.
All jokes aside, this actually is serious businessSecurity challenges continue to grow for state and local election officials across the country, including potential cyberattacks waged by foreign governments, criminal ransomware gangs and election misinformation that has led to harassment of election officials and undermined public confidence.
Indeed, Sen. Lippincott presented the bill on the heels of a warning from the FBI that Chinese government hackers are targeting critical U.S. infrastructure, including water treatment plants, the electrical grid and transportation systems.
Numerous companies and businesses already have similar pro-active defensive measures in place â whether that be contracting with a firm to help detect cybersecurity weaknesses or employ their own computer experts. Itâs not a stretch to realize that such an approach might be wise for a state, too.
âThis idea is that an ethical hacker can find vulnerabilities that can be fixed before they can be exploited by bad actors,â the senator said. âThey can say, âHereâs the hole in the dike.â â
We appreciate Sen. Lippincottâs forward thinking. The idea is certainly worthy of his colleaguesâ consideration.
