“The Department of Veterans Affairs is in the market for a federal contractor to help it incorporate innovative cybersecurity technologies into its defenses, according to a July 13 sources-sought notice.”
“The VA’s Office of Information Security (OIS) aims to launch a Cybersecurity Innovation Program that will cultivate relationships with nontraditional suppliers, according to an attached performance work statement.”
“The initiative calls for outsourcing the task of analyzing the market for promising technologies and ‘incubating’ startup vendors by providing expert guidance and financial support. The VA’s ideal pick for the role is a contractor with ‘strong alliances with Silicon Valley’ and other U.S. technology hubs, a deep understanding of the startup landscape, and partnerships with academia and think tanks, according to the notice.”
“The impetus for the Cybersecurity Innovation Program is twofold. First, an ‘evolving cyber threat landscape’ puts the department and its data at risk of increasingly sophisticated attacks by nation-states and cyber criminals. Second, unforeseen events like the Covid-19 pandemic have pushed OIS’s security capabilities to their limits in terms of providing secure access to telework and telemedicine services. Solutions to these cybersecurity challenges are ‘inaccessible through the traditional procurement process,’ according to the PWS…” Read the full article here.
Source: VA Seeks ‘Incubator’ to Develop Cutting-Edge Cyber Technologies – By Chris Cornillie, July 16, 2020. Bloomberg Government.
