US DHS awards BAA contract to Jericho Systems

Jericho Systems has signed a broad agency announcement (BAA) contract with the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate to use fine-grained access control policies and data labels to secure sensitive and personally identifiable data at DHS fusion centres.

Under the two-year contract, Jericho Systems will develop a architecture and deployable prototype that securely segments sensitive and personal data using fine-grained, dynamic access control.

Compatible with existing standards as well as state-of-the-art Attribute-Based Access Control (ABAC) architectures, the solution will leverage and incorporate existing services already developed by DHS.

The effort will also enhance access management and information sharing abilities of Communities of Interest (COI) and organisations within DHS.

DHS fusion centers serve as clearinghouses through which federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial partners can collaborate and share threat-related information.

Jericho Systems cyber-security architect Bill Doyle said, "This approach leverages existing IT infrastructure and preserves organizational autonomy and data ownership."

Jericho Systems engineering vice president Tim Schmoyer said that the company will assist DHS fusion centres in fully achieving and maintaining the four Critical Operational Capabilities while ensuring the protection of privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties.

As part of ABAC, the company will implement data labelling within a security context that includes multiple platforms, various classified environments, multiple security credentials, and multiple protocols.