Defense to spy on its own data

[InfoSec News <alerts () infosecnews org>]

http://www.nextgov.com/nextgov/ng_20120426_6364.php

By Aliya Sternstein
Nextgov
04/26/2012

The Pentagon is draping its networks with technology that models in 3-D 
weaknesses lurking inside, to show managers where threats are most 
likely to enter, according to a contractor hired for the project.

The patented Passive Vulnerability Scanner is one of several new 
surveillance systems that the Defense Information Systems Agency, the 
Pentagon's information technology support arm, is delivering to military 
services and select intelligence agencies under a contract announced 
this week. The seven-year project valued at $39.8 million transitioned 
out of test mode in late 2011 and soon will be available with full 
functionality, according to developer Tenable Network Security.

Eventually, the scanner will be folded into the Defense Department's 
ongoing "continuous monitoring" effort, which assesses the security of 
all IT assets in near real time, Pentagon officials told Nextgov.

Multiple layers of security are critical for a department where 
outsiders try hacking into networks, sometimes successfully, millions of 
times every day, Pentagon officials have said.

[...]


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