Earlier this year I shared news of two important initiatives, the opening of the DHS Silicon Valley Office (SVO) and the release of the first call focused on Securing the Internet of Things (IoT). The call was issued under the SVO’s Innovation Other Transaction Solicitation (OTS). The goal of the Innovation OTS is to engage start-ups, incubators, and those who historically have been atypical partners for government, to consider the Department as a viable customer and transition partner. With this solicitation, we’re not reinventing the wheel but are using existing procurement authorities to mirror the process and pace of Silicon Valley and other innovative investment communities. We are looking to connect with start-ups developing concepts for commercial applications and have the potential to tackle tough mission challenges. This first call seeks novel ideas and technologies to improve situational awareness and security for protecting IoT domains, including the 16 critical infrastructure sectors monitored by DHS.
And today I’m pleased to report record progress: our Silicon Valley Office is out in full force. SVO’s Managing Director Melissa Ho held our first industry day releasing the IoT call in December, and in just two months—on February 12—awarded the first contract to Pulzze Systems, Inc., a start-up company based in Santa Clara, California that develops advanced IoT detection and monitoring. The work by the Pulzze team, a project called “Infrastructure traffic based detection of end-point interfaces,” aims to secure IoT infrastructure by improving visibility and providing dynamic detection as components connect or disconnect from an IoT system. The good news is the SVO/IoT solicitation is still open and continuing to receive applications. I encourage all IoT start-ups to find out more at: Call 1: Securing the Internet of Things (IoT), Solicitation Number: HSHQDC-16-R-00035.
Engaging start-ups is a key priority to the SVO’s success. Next week we’ll be at the 2016 RSA Conference in San Francisco. If you’re there, we are interested in connecting with you. Come see us at the DHS S&T booth #2633. We’ll also be at Amazon Web Service’s “Silicon Valley Innovation Update and Quick-Fire Demo Day” and at Mobile Monday’s “State of Cybersecurity for Mobile and IoT,” briefing incubators, accelerators, and start-ups on our work. For more information on the SVO or future OTS solicitations visit our webpage and follow us on Twitter and Facebook—@dhscitech for both—#StartUpDHS or contact dhs-silicon-valley@hq.dhs.gov.
Dr. Reginald Brothers
Under Secretary for Science and Technology