Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) in San Diego, CA recently announced that it will provide cyber security training to Department of Defense (DoD) personnel, via a prime task order under the Defense Information Systems Agency’s (DISA) omnibus ENCORE II contract. The task order has a 1-year base period of performance and 4 one-year options, with a total value of more than $21 million if all options are exercised.
The instruction is technically termed “information assurance” (IA), which steps beyond technology security and into the ways in which information is handled. IA and cyber-security can merge, of course, as they did when a senior defense executive took work home to an unsecured system; information about the VH-60N Presidential helicopter’s avionics subsequently ended up on servers in Iran. So, what will SAIC do to help stem the tide?
Under the task order, SAIC will develop and deliver IA education, training, and awareness products to help DoD continue to meet all DoD and Federal cybersecurity requirements. This will include instructional system and graphics design; multimedia programming; and development, integration, and maintenance of cyber security products. SAIC will also provide technical support to DISA’s cyber security system known as the public key infrastructure (PKI) program, providing education, training and certification for DoD civilian and military members, as well as providing DoD computer network defense operators with training for protecting networks and detecting and reacting to current cyber security threats and vulnerabilities.
The cyber security training will be performed in Falls Church, VA; Columbia, MD; and Chambersburg, PA, and will be undertaken in compliance with the Federal Information Security Management Act. The USA has a government-wide cyber-security initiative, and the US Office of Management and Budget now requires that all users of federal computer systems receive cyber security awareness training. On May 29/09, President Obama also announced that he would set up a cyber-security office, whose coordinator would be a member of the national security staff , and serve on the president’s National Economic Council.