Pentagon To Relaunch $475 Million Cyber Effort
Shortly after cancelling its search for bids on a five-year outsourcing contract, US Cyber Command said a retooled version will be out by October.
After abandoning a $475 million job posting for cyberattack and network defense experts, the Pentagon now says a retooled solicitation that takes into account private sector questions will be out by Oct. 1.
“Given significant interest along with technical and clarification questions from industry, US Cyber Command is reassessing and amending the [request for proposals] to give industry better fidelity into cyber requirements,” a Cyber Command official said recently.
The original solicitation, released April 30, was itself a revised version of a December 2014 draft request for proposals. The draft and final contracts both strove to reconcile the command’s needs with cyber market realities.
But soon after the final iteration was published, Defense Department officials said they needed more time to answer questions from cybersecurity vendors and extended the deadline for proposals to June 19.
And on May 21, officials jettisoned the whole five-year plan. At the time, contracting officials said they had to weigh whether a different acquisition strategy could better serve CYBERCOM’s needs.
DOD now anticipates “reissuing the RFP” within the fiscal year 2015 time frame, which ends Sept. 30, the official said.
The Pentagon has set a goal of reaching full operational capacity by 2018. That means standing up three types of National Mission Force teams: one dedicated to defending military networks; another poised to aid troops worldwide with military offensives; and the third to repel hacks targeting vital U.S. organizations.
