The municipality of The Hague in The Netherlands allows itself to be hacked every year during Hâck The Hague. A hacking competition organized by the municipality, together with cybersecurity company Cybersprint. On Monday, September 27, 2021, 200 ethical hackers from the Netherlands and abroad will once again try to detect vulnerabilities in the digital infrastructure of the municipality and its suppliers. With this competition, The Hague wants to increase its resilience and stimulate its suppliers to continuously be in top digital condition, so that peace and security can be guaranteed.  

Selected hackers may attempt to break into the municipal digital systems and those of its suppliers on 27 September 2021. To ensure fair-play, all participating hackers agree in advance to report the vulnerabilities they find in a dedicated portal, to provide evidence of what they found, how they found it, and how it could be solved, and to not make them public. These conditions are in line with the Coordinated Vulnerability Disclosure of the municipality. Both professional hackers and students are welcome to give it a try. 

The municipality of The Hague strives to ensure that the handling of personal data and the availability of its services continuously meet the highest possible security requirements. This is also monitored during the hacking competition by a jury consisting of specialists from the cybersecurity industry. 

There are 12 cash prizes between € 500 and € 2,000 available in four categories:  

• Most creative hack 
•  Most advanced hack  
• Most impactful hack  
• Hâckademic Award, including a recommendation letter (student award).  

With the Hâckadamic Award, The Hague wants to encourage students and other upcoming talent to do more with cybersecurity.  Do you think you can hack the municipality of The Hague? Register before 1 June via the website Hâck The Hague.