Parsons awarded Army cybersecurity contract

Parsons has been awarded the technology initiative contract for Deployable Defensive Cyberspace Operations (DCO) Infrastructure (DDI) in support of the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology, the Pasadena, CA-based company announced January 25. The work is being performed through the Consortium for Command, Control, Communications and Computer Technologies (C5) under an Other Transaction Agreement procurement. C5—a nonprofit organization composed of defense contractors, for-profit and nonprofit organizations, and academic research institutions—offers a uniquely rapid, cost-effective, and collaborative acquisition vehicle to advance the Army’s operational cyber capabilities.

“Parsons is pleased to support the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology in the critical area of defensive cybersecurity,” stated Mary Ann Hopkins, Parsons Group President. “Our cyber experts are working closely with the government to ensure the continued superiority of the nation’s military technology.”

As part of the Army’s global mission in cyberspace operations, DCO within key cyber terrain is conducted by a maneuver defense force that offers commanders quick reaction, cyber defense reinforcement, and security enhancement capabilities. This defense force consists of Cyber Protection Teams that operate within friendly networks and are organized to perform one of five key cyber defensive mission functions:  mission protection, discovery and counter infiltration, cyber threat emulation, inspection, and cyber support.

Parsons’ effort includes developing physical hardware/networking models to evaluate the technical feasibility of a DDI capability. The DDI prototypes are defensive cyberspace weapons systems that enable real-time protection of critical systems within a specified operating environment, driven by the capability to detect and remove anomalous threat activity. The solution aligns with the C5 emerging software and hardware technology objective and is directly relevant to Army DCO weapons systems.

Source: Parsons