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TMF Board selects the Army Critical Infrastructure Cyber Protection Project for investment

By U.S. Army Public AffairsOctober 13, 2022

Dr. Raj Iyer, the Army’s Chief Information Officer, delivers a speech highlighting CIO initiatives supporting the Army.
Dr. Raj Iyer, the Army’s Chief Information Officer, delivers a speech highlighting CIO initiatives supporting the Army. (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Government’s Technology Modernization Fund, a federal investment program focused on IT modernization has announced that it will inject capital into the Army project.

The Technology Modernization Board selected the Army Critical Infrastructure Cyber Protection Project for TMF funding in fiscal year 2023.

With funding from the TMF, the Critical Infrastructure Cyber Protection Project will address modernization and upkeep of the Army’s Organic Industrial Base Operational Technology systems by mitigating and remediating vulnerabilities; while ensuring conditions are set for cyber defenders to monitor, respond, and remediate cyber incidents.

The modernization and upkeep of OIB OT will be addressed by enabling attack sensing and warning and vulnerability assessment cyber capabilities through an innovative approach called Security Operations Center as-a-Service.

A SOCaaS as defined, is a security model where a third-party vendor operates and maintains a fully managed SOC on a subscription basis. The SOC will be the cyber watch for the OIB site or sites. With the funding from the TMF, the Army will procure services through the SOCaaS model that will align the talent and resources required to protect, operate, and defend OIB sites.

“The Army prioritized cybersecurity of OT through the Army Digital Transformation Strategy,” said Dr. Raj Iyer, the Army’s Chief Information Officer. “With OT cybersecurity as one of the Army’s top priorities, we published the first OT cybersecurity strategy earlier this year and followed that up with a funding request through the White House for this important effort. The TMF has helped accelerate this urgent effort by as much as two years.”

The Organic Industrial Base generates over $8.5 billion for the economy and employs over 28,000 employees across 26 sites throughout the country.

For more information, visit: tmf.cio.gov.