in october of the same year, dod developed a vulnerability disclosure policy (vdp), the first of its kind created for the u.s. government. the policy outlines the conditions under which cybersecurity researchers may legally explore front-facing programs for security vulnerabilities. the first use of the vdp launched as part of the "hack the army" initiative, which was also the first time this branch of the u.s. military welcomed hackers to find and report security flaws in its systems.