The Pentagon is calling on hackers to attack the US Department of Defense and possibly get rewarded.

The initiative is based on a so-called “bug bounty” program set to kick off in April, Defense News reported Wednesday.

The hackers are asked to inflict as much damage as possible on the DoD’s websites in an effort to find holes in the system.

The move is aimed at boosting cyber security, which the US government says remains vulnerable to cyber crimes mostly blamed on China.

“I am always challenging our people to think outside the five-sided box that is the Pentagon,” Secretary of Defense Ash Carter said in a statement. “Inviting responsible hackers to test our cyber security certainly meets that test. I am confident this innovative initiative will strengthen our digital defense and ultimately enhance our national security.”

Defense officials do not yet know how to test the participants who initially need to be registered and vetted.

“This is a pretty amazing thing and we believe that people are going to want to participate,” an official said. “We welcome whatever that number is that can lend their skills to do it.”

The initiative could raise fears in the federal government as it might be misused by black hat hackers.

“We’re constantly under attack. I can’t possibly empathize that anymore. Just like we have war fighters that are constantly under attack, our systems and networks are constantly being attacked here,” the official said. “Nobody who is a ‘bad guy’ is waiting around for us to introduce a bug bounty to go after a DoD effort. They’re not waiting. They’re doing it right now.”

At the RSA cyber security conference in San Francisco on Tuesday, NSA chief Admiral Michael Rogers said hacking the United States’ infrastructure is a "matter of when, not if."