ARLINGTON, Va. - Military researchers are working with five organizations to develop design tools with built-in cybersecurity and trusted computing capabilities to counter software cyber vulnerabilities in military and commercial electronic systems.
The SSITH program centers on hardware design tools with built-in cybersecurity.
U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) officials in Arlington, Va., awarded five contracts for the System Security Integrated Through Hardware and firmware (SSITH) program, which aims to protect against software attacks that exploit hardware vulnerabilities. Those receiving SSITH contracts are Lockheed Martin Rotary and Mission Systems in Owego, N.Y.; Charles Stark Draper Laboratory in Cambridge, Mass.; SRI International in Menlo Park, Calif.; Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y.; and University of California-San Diego in La Jolla, Calif.
Lockheed Martin won a potential $11.5 million contract; Draper Lab won a potential $9.8 million contract; SRI won a potential $7.6 million contract; Cornell won a potential $2.9 million contract; and University of California-San Diego won a potential $1.1 million. Contract amounts include base amounts and options.
SSITH contractors will develop architectures and tools that enable system-on-chip designers to safeguard hardware against known common weakness enumeration classes of hardware vulnerabilities that hackers can exploit through software.
For more information visit Lockheed Martin at www.lockheedmartin.com.
