The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) www.dhs.gov/science-and-technology has announced a $2.9 million cybersecurity “Mobile App Security (MAS) R&D” award to help identify mobile app vulnerabilities. Kryptowire, a small business based in Northern Virginia was awarded the 30 month contract through DHS S&T.
“Ensuring that our mobile applications are secure across the federal government is a priority for S&T,” said DHS Under Secretary for Science and Technology, Dr. Reginald Brothers. “This project will help to enable the secure use of mobile apps across the Department’s many missions.”
The MAS R&D project aims to establish continuous automated assurance of mobile apps for the federal government. By combining mobile app archiving and app vetting technologies as well as incorporating government and industry security standards, the project will capture app changes with the app’s lifespan and then will tested against known vulnerabilities and emerging threats.
The results captured will be put into a report that will be continuously maintained and will follow the Federal Chief Information Officer Council’s Mobile Technology Tiger Team initiative for app reciprocity and enable other federal departments and agencies to share the information.
S&T’s Cyber Security Division www.dhs.gov/science-and-technology/cyber-security-division and the First Responders Group www.dhs.gov/science-and-technology/first-responders are leading this program with partnerships from the DHS Office of the CIO, FEMA, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S Computer Emergency Readiness Team, the Department of Justice, GSA, and other federal agencies.