The Department of Homeland Security finalized a new metric for assessing the cybersecurity readiness of prospective contract awardees.
The Cybersecurity Readiness Factor resulted from the statistical analysis of the 2023 Cyber Hygiene Assessment Instrument Questionnaire, and involves meeting the National Institute of Standards and Technology Special Publications 800-171r2 and 800-172 on information security, DHS stated in a notice published Wednesday on SAM.gov.
The metric divides readiness into three levels of likelihood, based on whether they have partially, fully or not satisfied security requirements. For fiscal year 2024, DHS set the objective baseline at fifteenth percentile. The contractor’s resulting percentile will be sent to the DHS contracting officer for review during the pre-award stage.
DHS is inviting industry feedback on the Cybersecurity Readiness Factor until Nov. 17.
On Nov. 15, the Potomac Officers Club is hosting the 2023 Homeland Security Summit to shine a light on today’s most pressing U.S. security issues. Register now to join the event.
