Posted by Douglas Maughan, Cyber Security Division Director, DHS Science & Technology Directorate
This week, eight new federally funded technologies were showcased in Silicon Valley. The DHS Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) Cybersecurity Division hosted a Transition-to-Practice Technology Demonstration Day for investors, integrators and IT companies to view, test, and “kick the tires” on these new cybersecurity technologies, developed by the Department of Energy’s National Laboratories.
One of the biggest challenges for the research and development community is the ability to transition technology prototypes into real-world products that can be purchased and put to use. This new program is designed to help transition the advanced prototypes of technologies that are ready for commercialization and avoid the gap between laboratories and the commercial market.
The eight new federally funded technologies showcased this week in Silicon Valley, included:
- Path Scan – an intrusion-detection system that thwarts cyber attacks by detecting anomalous network-hopping activity, which is seen as hackers traverse a network looking for key resources
- Code Seal – trust anchors that encrypt computer activities in untrusted environments.
- Net_Mapper/Everest – a network mapping and visualization tool.
- MLSTONES – a biology based malware and event analysis forensic tool that tags and sequences events looking for similarities.
- Hone – a network traffic analyzer.
- Hyperion/FX – a malware detection and software assurance tool.
- Choreographer – a moving target defense tool that detects when DNS connections are bypassed.
- USB ARM – a removable media (USB, DVD, CD-ROM, etc) policy enforcement tool that prevents removable media from mounting into a computer’s file systems.
If these sound pretty technical, they are, but TTP program manager Michael Pozmantier believes that commercial developers will be excited at the opportunity to turn these prototypes into commercially viable cybersecurity products that will increase the cyber security posture of the nation.
A cornerstone of DHS’ mission is to ensure the essential functionality that critical infrastructure provides to the American public is sustained by working with stakeholders to protect their networks including those of the federal government, as well as combating financial crime and fraud, and safeguarding intellectual property rights, while building a national capacity for cybersecurity through outreach, awareness, and education and keeping a steady focus on safeguarding the public’s civil rights and civil liberties.
This week’s event was held in Silicon Valley and S&T expects to hold an identical opportunity for East Coast investors in October.