You can win $50,000 if you successfully hack a US government satellite

• "Hack-A-Sat" is holding its fourth annual competition at the DEF CON conference in Las Vegas.
• The contest is sponsored by the US government and has a prize of $50,000.
• The competition is meant to help the government build up its resources against foreign hackers.

It seems counterintuitive for the US government to cheer on hackers targeting its satellites, but that's just what's happening this weekend at Hack-A-Sat 4.