For Immediate Release
DHS Science & Technology Press Office
Contact: John Verrico, (202) 254-2385
WASHINGTON – The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) awarded $75,000 to Machine-to-Machine Intelligence Corporation (M2Mi) based in Moffett Field, CA to make the SPECK cryptographic protocol available to Internet of Things (IoT) devices. This award under the Homeland Security Innovation Program (HSIP) Other Transaction Solicitation (OTS) is aimed at non-traditional performers to offer solutions for some of the toughest threats facing DHS and the homeland security mission. The project titled “Internet of Things” was awarded through Securing the Internet of Things (IoT), Solicitation Number: HSHQDC-16-R-00035, and is the first call for proposals from the program.
“Creating innovative IoT technology solutions is a Department priority,” said DHS Under Secretary for Science and Technology Dr. Reginald Brothers. “We’re excited to engage this community of innovators to help solve challenges to the Homeland Security mission.”
The Internet of Things is a convergence of mobile devices, information technology networks, connected sensors and devices. The DHS OTS call for security solutions seeks novel ideas and technologies to improve situational awareness and security for protecting these domains, including the 16 critical infrastructure sectors monitored by DHS.
“It’s important for DHS to collaborate with the innovation community,” said Melissa Ho, Managing Director, S&T’s Homeland Security Innovation Program in Silicon Valley. “The commercial sector has a lot of innovative technologies that the government needs to harness to help solve our challenges.”
The M2Mi Corporation team will create a deployable open source version of the SPECK cryptographic protocol – part of the SIMON and SPECK cryptographic suite – to address IoT security by making a light weight crypto package that can be run on IOT devices. Once this work is completed, anyone developing software that runs on IOT devices will be able to use this open source package to introduce encryption.
For more information on future OTS solicitations visit https://www.dhs.gov/svo or contact dhs-silicon-valley@hq.dhs.gov.
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