--- kind: "section" citation: "6 U.S.C. § 665m" title: "6" title_heading: "Domestic Security" number: "665m" heading: "President’s Cup Cybersecurity Competition" release: "119-102" date: "2026-07-12" url: "https://uscodex.org/usc/6/665m" units: - "Chapter 1 — Homeland Security Organization" - "Subchapter XVIII — Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency" - "Part A — Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security" --- # §665m. President’s Cup Cybersecurity Competition - (a) **In general—** The [Director](/usc/6/650.md?p=10) of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security [Agency](/usc/6/650.md?p=1) (in this section referred to as the “[Director](/usc/6/650.md?p=10)”) of the [Department](/usc/6/641.md?p=1) of [Homeland](/usc/6/101.md?p=1) Security is authorized to hold an annual cybersecurity competition to be known as the “[Department](/usc/6/641.md?p=1) of [Homeland](/usc/6/101.md?p=1) Security Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security [Agency](/usc/6/650.md?p=1)’s President’s Cup Cybersecurity Competition” (in this section referred to as the “competition”) for the purpose of identifying, challenging, and competitively awarding prizes, including cash prizes, to the [United States](/usc/6/101.md?p=19-A) Government’s best cybersecurity practitioners and teams across offensive and defensive cybersecurity disciplines. - (b) **Eligibility—** To be eligible to participate in the competition, an individual shall be a Federal civilian employee or member of the uniformed services (as such term is defined in [section 2101(3) of title 5](/usc/5/2101.md?p=3)) and shall comply with any rules promulgated by the [Director](/usc/6/650.md?p=10) regarding the competition. - (c) **Competition administration—** The [Director](/usc/6/650.md?p=10) may enter into a grant, contract, cooperative agreement, or other agreement with a private sector for-profit or nonprofit [entity](/usc/6/301c.md?p=2) or [State](/usc/6/101.md?p=17) or [local government](/usc/6/101.md?p=13) [agency](/usc/6/650.md?p=1) to administer the competition. - (d) **Competition parameters—** Each competition shall incorporate the following elements: - (1) Cybersecurity skills outlined in the National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education Framework, or any successor framework. - (2) Individual and team events. - (3) Categories demonstrating offensive and defensive cyber operations, such as software reverse engineering and exploitation, network operations, forensics, big data analysis, cyber analysis, cyber defense, cyber exploitation, secure programming, obfuscated coding, or cyber-physical systems. - (4) Any other elements related to paragraphs [(1)](#d-1), [(2)](#d-2), or [(3)](#d-3), as determined necessary by the [Director](/usc/6/650.md?p=10). - (e) **Use of funds—** - (1) **In general—** In order to further the goals and objectives of the competition, the [Director](/usc/6/650.md?p=10) may use amounts made available to the [Director](/usc/6/650.md?p=10) for the competition for reasonable expenses for the following: - (A) Advertising, marketing, and promoting the competition. - (B) Meals for participants and organizers of the competition if attendance at the meal during the competition is necessary to maintain the integrity of the competition. - (C) Promotional items, including merchandise and apparel. - (D) Consistent with [section 4503 of title 5](/usc/5/4503.md), necessary expenses for the honorary recognition of competition participants, including members of the uniformed services. - (E) Monetary and nonmonetary awards for competition participants, including members of the uniformed services, subject to [subsection (f)](#f). - (2) **Application—** This subsection shall apply to amounts appropriated on or after December 23, 2022. - (f) **Prize limitation—** - (1) **Awards by the Director—** The [Director](/usc/6/650.md?p=10) may make one or more awards per competition, except that the amount or value of each shall not exceed $10,000. - (2) **Awards by the Secretary of Homeland Security—** The [Secretary](/usc/6/641.md?p=3) of [Homeland](/usc/6/101.md?p=1) Security may make one or more awards per competition, except the amount or the value of each shall not exceed $25,000. - (3) **Regular pay—** A monetary award under this section shall be in addition to the regular pay of the recipient. - (4) **Overall yearly award limit—** The total amount or value of awards made under this Act[^1] during a fiscal year may not exceed $100,000. - (g) **Reporting requirements—** The [Director](/usc/6/650.md?p=10) shall annually provide to the Committee on [Homeland](/usc/6/101.md?p=1) Security of the House of Representatives and the Committee on [Homeland](/usc/6/101.md?p=1) Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate a report that includes the following with respect to each competition conducted in the preceding year: - (1) A description of available amounts. - (2) A description of authorized expenditures. - (3) Information relating to participation. - (4) Information relating to lessons learned, and how such lessons may be applied to improve cybersecurity operations and recruitment of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security [Agency](/usc/6/650.md?p=1) of the [Department](/usc/6/641.md?p=1) of [Homeland](/usc/6/101.md?p=1) Security. ## Footnotes [^1]: So in original. Probably should refer to “this section”. See References in Text note below. ## Source credit (Pub. L. 117–263, div. G, title LXXI, § 7121, Dec. 23, 2022, 136 Stat. 3638.) ## Notes ### Editorial Notes ### References in Text This Act, referred to in subsec. (f)(4), is Pub. L. 117–263, Dec. 23, 2022, 136 Stat. 2395, known as the James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023, but probably means H.R. 6824, 117th Cong., 2d Sess. (as reported to the Senate), known as the President’s Cup Cybersecurity Competition Act, which consisted only of the section containing the short title and this section. The reference to “this Act” from the original was not updated when the text of H.R. 6824 was incorporated into Pub. L. 117–263. ### Codification Section was enacted as part of the James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023, and not as part of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 which comprises this chapter.