"The state of New Jersey is very excited to begin this innovative working arrangement which will allow us to take advantage of the extensive experience and expertise of the U.S. Army in developing mechanisms to protect critical, confidential data," said Chief Technology Officer Charles S. Dawson. "A comprehensive intrusion detection program is a key component in our homeland security plans to protect our IT infrastructure from cyber-terrorism."
The purpose of the CRADA is to define the operations and architecture needed to deploy an intrusion detection and response program for the state's executive branch, which consists of 16 departments. The technical components of the program include host-based intrusion detection systems, network-based intrusion detection systems, and security information management systems. The state will also receive guidance in developing policies and procedures to effectively manage the program.
For the project, CERDEC, located at Fort Monmouth in New Jersey, created a homeland security team. The homeland security team will conduct surveys with each department of the executive branch, provide analysis of networks and critical assets, evaluate potential products, and ultimately issue recommendations. An architecture design document will also be developed.
"Faced with a difficult budget situation, we are very fortunate to have built this relationship with CERDEC to gain such a great deal of knowledge and resources," said Dawson. "We are leveraging a large technology base that encompasses nearly 1,600 scientists and engineers working within communications and communications-related disciplines."
CERDEC is part of the U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Command (CECOM). With a research budget in excess of $860 million, CECOM develops and secures the U.S. Army's battlefield and strategic networks while performing the required system engineering to ensure seamlessly integrated systems. CECOM developed systems that were used extensively on the battlefield during the recent war in Iraq to network highly mobile forces with secure communications using both voice and data. Additionally, during the rescue and recovery efforts in New York City following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, CECOM provided sophisticated search sensors that were used to locate survivors, airborne sensors that were used to locate and track the spreading fires within the rubble pile, laser vibration sensors that tracked the movement and stability of the pile, and radio direction finding-equipment used to locate buried mobile phones.
"We are pleased to begin our first research partnership with state government," said James Soos, Ph.D., of CERDEC. "CERDEC offers non-federal partners access to a wide range of expertise in many disciplines. This technical expertise will be leveraged to meet state of New Jersey information technology and infrastructure objectives."
