The first batch of cyber security equipment to be delivered to CYBERCOM units – Breaking Defense

WASHINGTON – Sealing Technologies, a Parsons subsidiary, is set to deliver the first batch of new cyber defense equipment to four divisions on Tuesday, the company told Breaking Defense.

This capability, called the Joint Cyber ​​​​Hunt Kit (JCHK), will provide cyber defense fighters in the US Cyber ​​​​​​​​Command kits that stand to carry out hunting operations for the first time, and will also include so-called hunting operations on the networks of foreign partners, President of Defense and Intelligence of Parsons Mike Kushin said in an interview. Friday.

“Hunting is for [advanced persistent threats] which are difficult to find, because they are very complicated, often [from] “It provides a method and it provides ways to fix it, but that’s the responsibility of the teams and they work back with Cyber ​​​​​​Command for that purpose.”

The equipment was completed last weekend in preparation for delivery to key facilities, the company said today.

Suitcase-sized equipment can be stored in overhead compartments, and the computer’s size allows CYBERCOM’s self-defense SWAT teams to respond to an intrusion.

This type of equipment is necessary because the network cannot be constantly monitored from a remote security operations center, said Kushin, as some of the Department of Defense’s networks are not connected to the outside or available on broadband connections. The same is true of foreign partner networks, which require troops to use the kit to be able to connect and hunt.

The Parsons facility offers much more storage than previous capabilities, Kushin said, a key requirement from CYBERCOM, as well as increased speed and AI capabilities to help identify and analyze cyber threats.

In the past, DIU managed the JCHK contract and procurement on behalf of CYBERCOM, which it will now take over.

This is the first time that CYBERCOM security teams have common equipment, despite previous efforts to create it, where there were usually differences in each service. Each service, responsible for equipping the network units, installed the units in a slightly different manner, which led to a general inefficiency in equipment, training, funding and operation and maintenance.

Now, with standard equipment, there is more performance across the board.

“The commonality will help and [operations and maintenance] tail, so the government can focus a lot of money on hunting and technological development during the next three years, whether it’s operations or anywhere else, instead of the O & M tail and having these unusual groups out there,” Kushin said.

JCHK is the result of a low initial production contract awarded to the company to supply twelve sets of equipment to advance teams, the first four of which were delivered last weekend. In January, a full contract was announced worth about $500 million over three years, and Kushin said Parsons will deliver 74 units this calendar year.

In addition to CYBERCOM units, Kushin said there is interest from other DoD and broader government customers.

“There are other government agencies, CISA, for example, that can use this contract if they are inclined or they can make their own contract and get what they need,” he said. “We like the idea of ​​a common platform as much as possible, even if it’s the Department of War in one case and the Department of Homeland Security in another case. It’s good for them to also enable us to provide common tools.”