The Defense Department (DoD) is seeking a small business vendor to provide security services and penetration testing for its Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) outreach office, with the aim of helping the office boost its cyber defenses.

DoD’s Washington Headquarters Services organization issued an Aug. 26 solicitation that says vendor proposals must be from small businesses and should provide a series of cyber defense services to ensure secure networks for DIU – a DoD organization launched in 2015 to help the military accelerate emerging commercial technology deployment.

“[DIU] has a unique mission of leveraging commercial solutions to rapidly improve national security,” the solicitation said. “This requires annual penetration testing, red teaming, team training and active defense on DIU systems and personnel to make sure proper security measures are in place.”

The penetration testing will involve the use of security-industry-accepted security tools, industry best practices, and security professionals with at least 10 years of penetration testing experience. The red teaming requirements involve intelligence gathering, threat modelling, vulnerability analysis, exploitation and post-exploitation, and reporting capabilities.

Proposals should also have staff cyber awareness training, as well as “supporting processes that allow for a series of systems that enable DIU to actively manipulate the operating environment of a potential attacker.”

Contracts will last 12 months, and proposals are due by Sept. 16.

Read More About