How the U.S. government responded to the vulnerabilities created by anti-virus software and other products from Russia’s AO Kaspersky Laboratories is an important demarcation point in the growing awareness of and need for supply chain trust and assurance. Before that, conversations regarding supply chain risk management “were sort of siloed off to the side,” explains Daniel Kroese, acting deputy assistant director for the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s National Risk Management Center at the Department of Homeland Security.
DHS
March 25, 2020
The COVID-19 pandemic, which to date has sickened tens of thousands of Americans and killed hundreds, is testing the viability of the FirstNet network in ways never seen before. The exponential increase in the number of cases in the country is pulling in more and more emergency medical services personnel, police officers, firefighters and other public safety officials, often in more remote areas, who all need real-time data exchange, network connectivity and communication tools.
January 22, 2020
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) awarded a $704,000 research-and-development (R&D) contract to Atlanta-based Georgia Tech Applied Research Center (GTARC) to support trustmark framework efforts to aid the public safety community’s information sharing and safeguarding capabilities, DHS reported. The GTARC R&D project will specifically address the lack of mature software tools to support the trustmark framework’s primary use-cases, such as emergency communications interoperability.
January 17, 2020
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) reported on January 17 that its Science and Technology (S&T) Directorate had completed the final integration of a smart city technology pilot in St. Louis as part of a program designed to enhance overall public safety and streamline operations across the city’s departments.
“This final rollout event, which included a series of tabletop exercises and operational scenarios, demonstrated how these technologies could be leveraged by first responders, emergency managers and other city officials in real-life events, such as floods, fires or earthquakes,” the DHS indicated.
November 13, 2019
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) has awarded $159,040 to Learning Machine Technologies Inc. to develop blockchain security technology to prevent credential fraud.
October 25, 2019
Falls Church, Virginia-based General Dynamics Information Technology (GDIT) will provide priority telecommunications services (PTS) to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) under a new contract with the DHS Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s (CISA) Emergency Communications Division (ECD), the company stated in an October 25 announcement. The single-award contract was awarded to CSRA LLC, a managed affiliate of GDIT. The value of the contract is capped at $325 million and includes a base period of one year with four one-year options. “We are honored to continue our journey supporting DHS’ next-generation telecommunications,” said Vice President Brian Michl, general manager of GDIT’s DHS Sector.
October 18, 2019
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) is launching its latest S&T Impact Series case study, one that highlights many of the precautions and actions the department is taking to strengthen the nation’s cyber capabilities.
October 3, 2019
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) awarded $199,680 to Bastille Networks, Inc. of Atlanta, Georgia. Under the Phase 4 award of S&T’s Silicon Valley Innovation Program’s (SVIP’s) “Security for the Internet of Things” solicitation, the company will provide its Internet of Things (IoT) security solution, which will enable system administrators to gain real-time situational awareness of threats on connected devices, according to the agency.
September 30, 2019
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) awarded $200,000 to CryptoMove, Inc., to support the U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) Small Unmanned Aircraft System (sUAS) security. CryptoMove is a start-up company in San Mateo, California, and is developing capabilities to protect CBP sUAS platforms from malicious actors. It uses a dynamic defense system and data fragmentation approach for the sUAS platforms, which is embedded in all levels of the technology architecture. The technology offers automated system resilience for connected devices, DHS reported.
September 27, 2019
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) awarded $143,478 to Danube Tech GmbH, a company based in Vienna, Austria, to develop blockchain security technology, the agency reported in a statement. The award was made under S&T’s Silicon Valley Innovation Program (SVIP) Other Transaction Solicitation Preventing Forgery and Counterfeiting of Certificates and Licenses. The agency has identified blockchain and distributed ledger technology (DLT) as a priority solution fors DHS missions.
September 3, 2019
Herndon, Virginia-based ManTech secured a five-year, $325 million, indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Office of Procurement Operations to support a Science & Technology Directorate requirement to provide Systems Engineering and Technical Assistance support, according to a company statement.
“As our nation confronts rising challenges from hostile states and criminal hackers, we are Bringing Digital to the Mission at DHS in innovative ways that advance their strategic and tactical goals while safeguarding vital IT [information technology] and network assets end-to-end.”said Kevin Phillips, president and CEO of ManTech.
August 27, 2019
The Department of Homeland Security’s new Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, known as CISA, is charged with coordinating the protection of America’s critical infrastructure from cyber as well as physical attacks. Director Christopher Krebs recently released the agency’s top operational priorities. CISA, which was created in November 2018, will initially tackle supply chain risks, election security and industrial control system security, among other measures, according to the document, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency: Strategic Intent.
August 27, 2019
Deployable flood inundation sensors based on the Internet of Things are being developed to monitor flood-prone areas in real time to rapidly detect them and alert officials, industry and citizens to potential threats. State and local government jurisdictions operationally field tested early versions of the technology over a nine-month period. During the next phase, the sensors will be enhanced for production and commercialization to both domestic and international partners to help densify their flood sensing networks for alerts, warnings and notifications.
September 3, 2019
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) awarded Planck Aerosystems, Inc. of San Diego, California, $200,000 to begin testing its autonomous small Unmanned Aircraft System (sUAS) in operational settings, the agency said in a statement. The contract to Planck is part of S&T’s Silicon Valley Innovation Program (SVIP) in which S&T partners with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to accelerate innovative technologies.
August 1, 2019
Officials with the Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate are exploring the potential for blockchain technology to prevent fraudulent government documents as agencies consider transitioning from paper-based processes to digital. And they’re not interested in cheap imitations.
July 15, 2019
The Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) announced today $35 million in funding opportunities for a new DHS Center of Excellence (COE) for Terrorism Prevention and Counterterrorism Research (TPCR). Accredited U.S. colleges and universities are invited to submit proposals as the center lead or as an individual partner to work with the lead institution in support of the center’s activities.
July 1, 2019
As emerging technologies and capabilities permeate and dominate the military and critical infrastructure, a different skill set is required to secure the increasingly complex cyberspace realm. The Internet of Things will be both an asset and a liability in the future when the military incorporates it into operations, and urban environments will complicate these efforts.
Cyber warfare continues to evolve with ever-changing innovation and technology, increasing critical infrastructure defense. In addition, with the onset of smart cities, the U.S. military in general, and the U.S. Army in particular, is exploring gaps in training and education related to operating in dense, super-connected urban areas.
June 20, 2019
The Department of Homeland Security, or DHS, has made a steady march toward the use of digital biometric data for identity management. After the attacks of 9/11, Congress mandated that DHS identify foreign airline travelers coming into the United States through digital fingerprints, and after that, required a biometric identification program for foreign nationals leaving the country. Since then, the department has added biometric identity management for U.S. citizens.
