Pentagon offers aid in improving cybersecurity for small businesses

TLDR:

• The Pentagon is working on a shared virtual cloud-based workspace for contractors to enhance cybersecurity for small businesses.
• This initiative is part of a larger industrial cybersecurity strategy to strengthen defense companies’ security.

The Pentagon is developing a shared virtual cloud-based workspace for contractors to enhance cybersecurity for small businesses in the defense industry. David McKeown, the Pentagon’s deputy CIO for cybersecurity, revealed this strategy to reporters, aiming to pilot it with up to 75 small businesses to test the security of data in a cloud environment. This move is part of the Pentagon’s industrial cybersecurity strategy to improve data and network security in the defense industry base.

The strategy includes centralizing cyber efforts, clarifying DOD’s roles, and improving cybersecurity management. The plan aims to increase the overall security of the industrial base, ramp up key production capabilities, and foster collaboration among defense contractors. As the defense industry faces constant cyber threats, the Pentagon seeks to help companies understand cyber requirements and provide assistance.

About 1,500 companies currently utilize the voluntary cybersecurity assistance services through the Defense Department’s Cyber Crime Center, but officials aim to expand this outreach to more of the estimated 200,000 companies that contract with the Defense Department. By offering a purpose-built cloud workspace and cybersecurity assistance, the Pentagon hopes to create a more secure environment for small defense contractors in the face of evolving cyber threats.