Remaining Vigilant: Identifying Cyber Dependencies, Vulnerabilities and Threats

UPDATES

August 26, 2019

Updates were made to the form “Attachment 1 – Electronic Proposal Submission Form”. Bidders are to use the “Attachment 1 – Electronic Proposal Submission Form_Rev_01” document for proposal submission.

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INTRODUCTION

This Challenge notice is issued under the Innovation for Defence Excellence and Security (IDEaS) Program Call for Proposals (CFP) Call 003 (W7714-196962).

Please refer to the main solicitation documents which contain the process for submitting a proposal.

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HOW TO APPLY

Step 1: 

Read the Challenge notice in its entirety.

Step 2: 

Read the Call for Proposals (CFP) and any associated attachments.

Step 3: 

Download and complete Attachment 1 – Electronic Proposal Submission Form, found below. If you have technical difficulties downloading the form, please see Attachment 2 – Important Information below.

Step 4:

Follow the submission instructions listed in Part 2 – Bidder Instructions of the CFP. Please allow sufficient time to register and submit the completed form before the Challenge tender notice closing date.

Requests to open an epost Connect Conversation are to be sent to DND.IDEaS-IDEeS.MDN@forces.gc.ca with the bid solicitation number at least five business days prior to the closing date of the Challenge tender notice. Follow the instructions that will be provided by email and submit your Electronic Proposal Submission Form by using the opened epost Connect Conversation.

Important: To avoid last minute technical difficulties, that could delay your submission, ensure that Part 2 – Bidder Instructions and Part 3 – Proposal Preparation Instructions are followed carefully. Late submissions will not be accepted.

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MAXIMUM FUNDING AND PERFORMANCE PERIOD

Multiple contracts could result from this Challenge.

The individual maximum contract funding available under Competitive Projects - Component 1a is up to $200,000 CAD (excluding applicable taxes) for a maximum performance period of up to 6 months.

This disclosure is made in good faith and does not commit Canada to contract for the total approximate funding.

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CHALLENGE DETAILS

Challenge Statement

The Department of National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces (DND/CAF) are looking for solutions to support mission-oriented cyber security and defence in order to develop robust continuity plans for cyber assets and capabilities.

Background and Context

Any operation will have a series of mission-essential functions that need to be maintained in order for the mission to continue and be successfully completed. The first step is to identify and prioritize these functions; the critical cyber capabilities and assets upon which a mission depends. Tools are required to support, simplify and expedite the task of identifying cyber vulnerabilities and risks to a mission.

Secondly, there is a need to analyze, prioritize and mitigate the risks. Impact assessments help decision-makers to know which cyber systems need to be protected. Risk assessments incorporate vulnerability and threat information to support active cyber defence planning and remediation. Tools are needed that provide decision-makers with a risk assessment to help them prioritize mitigation actions

Finally, the third issue involves the static nature of most efforts to identify and mitigate cyber dependencies and vulnerabilities. Assessments do not reflect the highly dynamic context in which missions and operations occur. Risks need to be continually identified and any mitigations need to be assessed. It is an iterative process that must be undertaken as quickly as possible.

A related problem involves the need for tools and capabilities to support automated, vulnerability scanning. Many technologies currently exist in the Information Technology (IT) world continuously scan a traditional enterprise network for known vulnerabilities. That capability is nascent for Operational Technologies (OT) and Platform Technologies (PT).

Desired Outcomes

Innovative research, tools, design concepts and/or technologies are sought that address, but are not limited to, one or more of the following areas associated with cyber security:

• Mission-oriented cyber security training strategies, methods and tools for:
  • Military Commanders (to understand vulnerabilities and dependencies);
  • Technical experts (to understand the military operations).
• Tools to support, simplify, expedite and/or automate the identification and mitigation of cyber vulnerabilities and risks to a mission;
• Dynamic risk assessment, prioritization and mitigation management in the face of changing threats that accounts for the known vulnerabilities of cyber systems, threats to those systems, and the impact to operational missions.
• Automated vulnerability scanning for military OT/PT platforms and systems.

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ENQUIRIES

All Challenge-related enquiries must be submitted in writing to:

TPSGC.PAIDEES-APIDEAS.PWGSC@tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca

Enquiries must be submitted no later than 10 calendar days before the Challenge notice closing date. Enquiries received after that time may not be answered.

For more information about the IDEaS program, Bidders can visit the IDEaS website.