New DARPA program to fund independent hackers

Calling all independent security researchers: The government wants to fund your work. 

As part of a new initiative, called Cyber Fast Track, described Thursday at the Black Hat confernce in Las Vegas, the U.S. Defense Department will fund small hacker groups and independent researchers in the development of cutting-edge solutions that can be created in short intervals for a low cost.

The program is the brainchild of Peiter Zatko, a respected hacker known as “Mudge,” who last February took on the role of program manager at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the Defense Department's central research organization. “Small groups of motivated and like-minded researchers have repeatedly shown talent and capability,” Zatko said in his keynote speech. “I want the people out there doing the cool research work.”