The pilot program was launched by the Department of Defense (DoD), in cooperation with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), in June of last year to share classified information about cyber threats with defense contractors and their network providers. Under the program, the network providers scan email traffic entering the defense contractors’ networks for malware based on malicious code signatures supplied by the Pentagon.
In August, the Pentagon announced that it would expand the pilot program from the initial 20 companies. The announcement on May 11 converts the initiative from a pilot into a permanent program – the DIB Cyber Security/Information Assurance (CS/IA) Program – and expands the scope of cooperation to include additional classified threat and technical information.
“The expansion of voluntary information sharing between the department and the defense industrial base represents an important step forward in our ability to catch up with widespread cyber threats”, commented Ashton Carter, Deputy Secretary of Defense. “Increased dependence on internet solutions have exposed sensitive but unclassified information stored on corporate systems to malicious probes, theft, and attacks. This expanded partnership between DoD and the defense industrial base will help reduce the risk of intrusions on our systems.”