Area of Interest (AoI) Statement: Tactical Defensive Cyber Operations Infrastructure (TDI)

Problem Statement

Cybersecurity is a vital part of military operations as digital technology has proliferated throughout the Department of Defense (DoD). As technology has advanced so has the threat. Traditional network security has been focused on implementing security measures to prevent breaches but fails to detect cyber attacks. DoD’s mission critical systems need to be monitored using advanced capabilities that can detect threats, mitigate vulnerabilities, and allow for appropriate counter action.

Desired Solution Attributes

The DoD seeks a defensive cyber operations (DCO) platform that can be installed on existing hardware and can incorporate existing or future capabilities. The platform should provide service members the capability to scan for cyber threats, log management and monitoring, and conduct network security monitoring. The solution should deploy automatically to relevant hardware, detect multiple cyber threats, facilitate mitigation or denial of adversarial actions, and allow global or regional cyberspace defenders to remotely assist with countering advanced threats.

The proposed solution should also meet the following criteria:

Ability to perform all of the following types of analysis: host indicator analysis, network indicator analysis, forensic analysis, and data aggregation, storing, and tagging for future analysis;
Ability to work with other cybersecurity tools to include Endpoint Detection and Response products;
Ability to display dashboards with analytical reports;
Ability to pivot to in-depth data analysis;
Interoperability with sensors or log forwarders on various host platforms throughout a given network;
Ability for remote operators to have access to same platform as local operators;
Ability to deploy without the need of a deployed Field Service Representative (FSR);
Ability to be deployed/updated via automated means (i.e., artificial intelligence or machine learning);
Ability to be updated on a periodic basis;
Must be self-contained and not dependent on cloud access;
Company must be able to provide support in classified environments;
Preferred open architecture to allow for integration of other capabilities;
Must meet requirements for certification on unclassified and classified networks per Cybersecurity Risk Management Framework (RMF) requirements (DoDI 8510.01); and
At a minimum, the solution must be compatible with 3x Dell XR2 - Skylake Gold 6138 w/ 2 sockets (40 Total Physical Cores), 192GB DDR4 RDIMM 2667MT/s, 46 TB total pooled storage

In addition to submission instructions below, companies should include links to the following in their solution briefs.

Administration/user guide of the current shipping product, and
Technical guides of the current shipping product.

Notes

The government may facilitate teaming arrangements among submissions offering complimentary capabilities to achieve desired effect. Companies are also welcome to present their own teaming arrangements in their solution briefs.
Preference is given to submitting companies and their subcontractor(s)
- That are headquartered in the United States;
- That are majority owned and controlled by United States entities;
- Whose principal place of business is in the United States;
- That will perform all work in the United States;
- Whose employees are citizens of the United States.
DIU reserves the right to remove from consideration submissions based on headquarters location, ownership or control, work performance location, or citizenship of employees performing work.
If a solution component is a SaaS offering, preference is given to solutions that a.) are Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) Moderate and DoD IL2 authorized, and b.) can demonstrate FedRAMP High and DoD IL4 authorization as part of the solution roadmap.
Preference is given for solutions that can demonstrate broad commercial acceptance.
Companies may include prior work on classified networks or facility clearance status in their submission (described at the unclassified level). A Facilities Clearance is not required to receive an award in response to this AOI.
Companies without a Commercial And Government Entity (CAGE) code will be required to register in SAM if selected. The government recommends that prospective companies begin this process as early as possible.
Resellers and academic research proposals are not desired.

Awarding Instrument:

This Area of Interest solicitation will be awarded in accordance with the Commercial Solutions Opening (CSO) process detailed within HQ0845-20-S-C001 (DIU CSO), posted to FBO in Mar 2020. Additionally this document can be found within the DIU Library at www.diu.mil/library.

Follow-on Production:

Companies are advised that any prototype Other Transaction (OT) agreement awarded in response to this Area of Interest may result in the award of a follow-on production contract or transaction without the use of further competitive procedures. The follow-on production contract or transaction will be available for use by one or more organizations in the Department of Defense and, as a result, the magnitude of the follow-on production contract or agreement could be significantly larger than that of the prototype OT. As such, any prototype OT will include the following statement relative to the potential for follow-on production: "In accordance with 10 U.S.C. 2371b(f), and upon a determination that the prototype project for this transaction has been successfully completed, this competitively awarded prototype OTA may result in the award of a follow-on production contract or transaction without the use of competitive procedures.”

Solution Brief Requirements

Solution Briefs should not exceed five (5) written pages using 12-point font or, alternatively, Solution Briefs may take the form of briefing slides which should not exceed fifteen (15).

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