Military Embedded Systems

Mobile security applications leverage university research in contract with DHS

News

September 28, 2015

Mariana Iriarte

Technology Editor

Military Embedded Systems

MCLEAN, Va. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate has tasked Northrop Grumman to develop biometric solutions to enhance mobile security for users. Under the Mobile Technology Security (MTS) research and development contract, valued at an estimated $1.7 million, the company will leverage university research projects to enhance security on mobile devices for federal customers.

Under the agreement, Northrop Grumman will combine behavioral sensing and modeling techniques to authenticate user identity through behavioral characteristics gathered by sensors instead of using a password or pin to access the device.

"As the government moves to a more mobile business model, this new technology mitigates risk so users can take advantage of the newest mobile applications in a trusted state," says Shawn Purvis, vice president and general manager, cyber division, Northrop Grumman Information Systems. "From the warfighter to the civil servant, we are integrating solutions to optimize ease and performance while layering our defense-in-depth approach to protect everything from the perimeter to the data."

Research and development technologies will be used from Carnegie Mellon University's (CMU) cybersecurity institute, CyLab, and Iowa State University through the Security and Software Engineering Research Center (S2ERC), an NSF-sponsored Industry/University Cooperative Research Center.

Northrop Grumman's Cybersecurity Research Consortium includes Carnegie Mellon University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Purdue University, and the University of Southern California.

Read more on cybersecurity:

Cyberattack defense on U.S. Navy ships with RHIMES system

DHS grants cybersecurity accreditation to Lockheed Martin

DoD renews cybersecurity training contract with TeleCommunication Systems