IBM Lands Mobile Tech Security R&D Contract From DHS S&T

IBM‘s Thomas J. Watson Research Center has received a $1.3 million contract from the Department of Homeland Security‘s Science and Technology Directorate for research and development work on mobile technology security.

DHS said Tuesday the award aims to utilize mobile security management tools to secure mobile devices for federal government use.

IBM will work to develop a tool that looks at long-term irregularities in device behavior, the department added.

“As the number of smart devices grows, the threat to mobility will increase,” said Vincent Sritapan, program manager at the cybersecurity division of DHS S&T.

“Cybersecurity needs to keep pace with the mobile industry in order to protect personal and mission information.”

DHS noted that the IBM contract is part of the Mobile Device Security R&D project under Sritapan.

Sritapan added that the department plans to deploy the resulting technologies from the project to the broader market beyond the government sector.