The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is inviting vendors to submit proposals for a project aiming to automatically compartmentalize software in order to lower the risk of cyber attacks.
The broad agency announcement is for the Compartmentalization and Privilege Management program, which will help the agency reform its legacy computing systems to make them more resilient against online threats, DARPA said Monday.
The agency is looking into a cybersecurity approach that involves limiting accessibility privileges and subdividing software into small compartments. The methodology has shown potential in blocking initial penetration attempts from escalating into full attacks.
Howard Shrobe, CPM program manager at DARPA’S Information Innovation Office, said their team hopes the CPM program will “create sufficient confidence for commercial entities to make the investments necessary for large-scale adoption,” which could consequently lower the cost of compartmentalization.
The project includes two phases that will be conducted over a four-year period. The first phase will employ the Linux operating system for technology development, testing and evaluation. The second phase will involve demonstration on open-source systems relevant to the Department of Defense.
On June 8, the Potomac Officers Club will host its annual Cyber Summit to shine a light on cyberspace as “the newest warfighting domain.” To join the conversation, click on the image below to register.
