DHS bolsters mobile security with new contract awards

The Homeland Security Department’s Science and Technology Directorate awarded $10.4 million in cybersecurity mobile technology security research and development (MTS R&D) contracts.

The awards were in four technical areas of research to protect the federal government’s mobile devices.

For mobile instrumentation research awardees are:

• HRL Laboratories, LLC of Malibu, Calif., for $2.2 million
• Kryptowire, LLC of Fairfax, Va., for $1.7 million
• Northrop Grumman of McLean, Va., for $1.8 million
• United Technologies Researcher Center of East Hartford, Conn., for $790,968

For next-gen mobile security management tools research the awardees are:

• IBM Research of Yorktown Heights, N.Y., for $1.4 million
• University of North Carolina of Charlotte, N.C., for $759,727

In addition, Rutgers University of New Brunswick, N.J., received $576,000 for transactional security methods research. Intelligence Automation, Inc., of Rockville, Md., received $1.2 million for mobile device layer protection research.

These awards are a part of the mobile device security R&D project. The goal is to increase the adoption of secure mobility by government and private-sector organizations.

Vincent Sritapan, MDS program manager for S&T said the project will provide progressive tools, technologies and methods to boost the adoption and use of secure mobile technologies for the future.

DHS Undersecretary for Science and Technology Dr. Reginald Brothers said a mobile and secure federal workforce is essential for achieving agencies’ missions.

“S&T is working to develop innovative and affordable technology solutions that align with government policies and standards while protecting sensitive information from cyber adversaries,” he said.

DHS announced the awards Sept. 3.