The General Services Administration, the federal government’s all-around agency, hosted a workshop Monday to discuss cybersecurity technology and how it can better the country’s infrastructure and security capabilities.
The GSA’s effort is part of President Barack Obama’s larger $19 billion Cybersecurity National Action Plan (CNAP), which was first proposed in February.
Tony Scott, the United States Chief Information Officer, announced in April that one of the key initiatives of White House’s cybersecurity agenda, “Improving and Modernizing Federal Cybersecurity,” would be administered by GSA and would be apportioned $3.1 billion.
GSA, which helps support the administrative and bureaucratic functions of the government, published an official request of information last week on their website. The purpose of the outreach effort was to develop advanced cybersecurity capabilities through services and technology by attracting talent.
GSA is anticipated to release a solicitation on August 12th, with a new information technology schedule and 70 special item numbers focused around “Highly Adaptive Cybersecurity Services” (HACS), according to FedScoop. A special item number, or SIN, is a classification of technology that is designated for further explanation.
The purveyors, in other words, provide greater detail into the often esoteric technological capabilities of the tools and services; this allows officials of government institutions to get a better understanding of what they are buying.
According to GSA officials, the SIN sale will commence on September 12th. The specialized cybersecurity items are sectored into three categories–proactive, reactive and remediation–covering all of the different stages of cybersecurity defense.
Giovanni Onwuchekwa, a branch chief within GSA’s Federal Acquisition Service, expressed that the purpose of this specific initiative is “to make sure we can establish you do have [quality products] and that you have a plan in place to continually maintain that quality.”
The government’s intention and overall goal is using the $3.1 billion to give government agencies the cybersecurity technology that can help them achieve their respective missions, ensure that their data is secure, and continuously utilize the tools in the correct manner.
According to Scott’s fact sheet press release, these resources will also “… disrupt and deter adversary activity and respond more effectively to incidents.”
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