The really effective hackers are a unique breed:
It is possible that just PAYING them would turn them off, might actually make them STOP what they do for free.
Bureacrats see people as interchangeable units, but hackers...?
They are INCREDIBLY fickle, suspicious and hostile to authority, hostile to actions undertaken in a group that is PHYSICALLY together under the same roof.
This is absolutely a proposal loved by a BUREAUCRAT.
The need for cyber is always becoming more and more clear, but the old formulas for building that capability will absolutely not work.
I totally agree with you there. The real effective ones do it for fun and because it is a challenge, not because they are told to.