US DHS selects SAIC as commercial provider of enhanced cybersecurity services

Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) has signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to serve as a commercial service provider (CSP), as part of the enhanced cybersecurity services (ECS) programme.

Under the terms of the agreement, SAIC will become a CSP of approved ECS services, which intends to boost US critical infrastructure protection against potential cyber attacks.

For securing critical infrastructure customers, the company will also develop the capability and security certifications to use threat indicators, in accordance with the MOA.

National Security Services cybersecurity operation manager Julie Taylor said that the SAIC and DHS collaboration will provide a new way to threat sharing in all public and private sectors, which offers a positive shift in the threat landscape.

Cybersecurity programme director David Lacquement said, "This public-private collaboration is strategically vital to significantly raising the level of cyber awareness, vigilance, and protection across our nation’s critical infrastructure."

In order to better protect customers who are critical infrastructure entities, the DHS develops indicators based on this information and shares them with qualified CSPs.

As a voluntary information sharing programme, ECS is aimed to assist owners and operators of critical infrastructure to improve their systems protection from unauthorised access, exploitation, or data exfiltration.

Cybersecurity organisations from the federal government as well as the US DHS works jointly to access to a broad range of sensitive and classified cyber threat information.