Tuesday 29 Oct 2013 @ 08:10
Innovate UK
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Funding Competition: Cyber defence - securing against the insider threat

  • Status: Forthcoming

  • Key features: This CDE themed competition is looking for innovative and novel proof-of-concept tools, and techniques to detect cyber insider threats of abuse.

  • Programme: SBRI

  • Award: TBC

  • Opens: 27 Nov 2013

  • Registration closes: No deadline

  • Closes: 09 Jan 2014

Summary

MOD's Centre for Defence Enterprise (CDE) proves the value of novel, high-risk, high-potential-benefit research sourced from the broadest possible range of science and technology providers, including academia and small companies, to enable development of cost-effective capability advantage for UK Armed Forces and national security. 
 
The MOD cyber programme, working with other government departments, seeks to support the UK's future in cyber space by finding improved ways to defend MOD's digital assets. The National Security Strategy outlines ‘hostile attacks upon UK cyber space by other states and large-scale cyber crime' as a tier 1 threat to UK national security.
 
To help counter this threat, Dstl's cyber defence research programme is focused on supporting MOD to intelligently defend and protect its digital assets. This will further enhance MOD's capability to efficiently detect and respond to attacks in a timely manner.
 
In this CDE themed competition, 'Cyber defence: securing against the insider threat', Dstl is looking for innovative and novel proof-of-concept tools and techniques to detect cyber insider threats or abuse of legitimate user credentials, utilising host-based solutions. These tools should focus on detecting abuse of legitimate access credentials (including detection of malware utilising user accounts), rather than identifying unauthorised access. This competition includes the study of behavioural and socio-technical indicators as well as the use of heuristics to indicate regular pattern of life and identify anomalous user behaviour. A host includes all end-user client devices (including platforms), device memory, configuration, audit and logs. 
 
This competition is looking to fund innovative studies and proof-of-concept technology developments of high technological risk but high potential benefit, where these demonstrate the highest quality and align with our stated needs of improving the provision of cyber defence.
 
MOD will not fund proposals that utilise existing heuristic methods without extension or expansion; that are not host based; or that restrict their scope to not include the detection of abuse of legitimate credentials (including by malware).
 
This call will launch at an event on Wednesday, 27 November 2013 in London. Register to attend now! MOD does not charge for attendance at CDE events.
 
A call document will be published about one month before the call launch and presentations from the launch event will be provided via this webpage after the event.
 
The call will close on Thursday, 9 January 2014 at 1700 hrs. All proposals must be submitted via the CDE Portal.
 

Key dates

This competition is run by the Centre for Defence Enterprise. 
  • Open date: 27 November 2013
  • Close date: 9 January 2014
  • Contracts awarded: TBC

Further information

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