In an effort to battle the ever growing cyber threats targeting defense systems, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) launched Cyber Fast Track. The initiative will fund short, fixed-price contracts designed to attract boutique agencies and other groups that may not normally be bidding on government work.
“The way government is set up, it’s almost impossible for the small businesses, the researchers, the hackers, to get money for research without giving up intellectual property or being purchased and having their company gutted," Zatko said. "I want to make it easier."
Those interested in the project already include a variety of niche cyber firms and small business from across the country, as well as sole-proprietership cyber sleuths who would not normally be in the running for government business.
Developers retain intellectual property rights, and the defense department gets government use rights to the work. Companies and individuals awarded contracts may be asked to brief military service academies, as well as keep DARPA informed of new developments in their research. The project aims to fund between 20 and 100 projects annually.
