I hacked the Dutch government T-shirt
Generated render Report
The story
The Dutch National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) sends this shirt to researchers once a vulnerability they reported in central-government systems has been fixed. Black tee, two lines of white text across the chest: "I hacked the Dutch government and all I got was this lousy t-shirt". On the sleeve is a white vertical bar with the crest and "National Cyber Security Centre / Ministry of Justice and Security". You can't buy it. It ships with a letter from NCSC-NL. Variants: a white version with dark text, a hoodie for repeat reporters, and since 2022 a yearly "I am on the [year] Wall of Fame of NCSC" hoodie for the jury's picks.
What stands out
Self-mockery works because the reward is honest about being small. One sentence turned a government thank-you into one of the most coveted shirts in security.
For your next brief
What could you give the people who help you for free that they'd wear because of the story, not the logo?
- Cotton
- 2013
- Screen-printed text, sleeve print
- Black, white
- Official merch