Canadian Military Puts Up $630K Bounty For Hacking, Defending 2015 Pickup Truck

The Canadian military is offering more than $600,000 (U.S.) to anyone who proves they can hack into a truck, then help the government determine the best way to patch the security flaws. It's the latest attempt to correct vehicular vulnerabilities after two security researchers proved it was possible to shut down a Jeep driving on the highway.

A government procurement notice obtained by CBC News Wednesday said the military is trying to test the security in a 2015 model light-duty pickup truck (the actual truck to be revealed after the contract is awarded). The hacker-for-hire would need to use the military's own software -- improving it as part of the contract -- and complete the work at the Defense and Development Canada Valcartier Research Center. The Canadian Department of Defense said -- although other attacks lead to economic and data loss -- hacking into vehicles is “a more important concern since the safety of their users or the users on the road might be at stake.”

The security researcher will be paid $157,000 hacking the truck, with another $475,000 available if they can also identify defensive measures that can stop the vehicle from being hacked.

The offer comes after "white-hat" hackers Charlie Miller and Chris Valasek showed in July they could take remote control of a Jeep Grand Cherokee, changing the radio station, driving it into a ditch and even stopping it on a busy highway.

The video sparked a wave of recalls, software updates and questions about how effectively companies have protected their Internet of Things products. The U.S. government, instead of offering a bounty for car hackers, is debating whether to silence security researchers seeking to publicly disclose potential exploits in popular cars and trucks.