DARPA Goes Agile with Cyber Fast Track
Posted on Thursday, August 11, 2011 by Ryan W. Smith
Welcoming changes for the security research community as a whole, Praetorian Researchers are opptimistic about future Cyber Fast Track opportunities for agile cyber security research.
Peiter Zatko, better known among hackers worldwide as “Mudge” from L0pht, announced at BlackHat last week that DARPA has created an agile cyber security program called Cyber Fast Track (CFT). In his new position at DARPA, as the head of the information innovation office, Mudge has created a program that allows independent researchers working on cutting edge projects to receive DARPA funding without the need to jump through endless hoops and paperwork. This work has culminated in the release of DARPA-RA-11-52, which aims to demonstrate
“the ability for cyber projects to be performed at an asymmetric advantage in time, cost, and contribution of the efforts in comparison to more traditional applied research areas.”
The new Cyber Fast Track program is unique for DARPA, in that there will be a rapid acceptance process. Some projects could begin within a few weeks of the proposal submission, and the project lengths will be on the order of months rather than years. This rapid proposal and project cycle aims to close the asymmetric advantage that adversaries have by creating a more accessible and agile process for research funding and execution. This enables independent researchers and boutique firms to receive the same government funding that has only been accessible by the large, established government contracting firms.
Mudge’s impact on DARPA’s research funding process is very exciting news for the security research community as a whole. As active contributors to the Honeynet Project and the STAFF Mobile Security Framework, Praetorian Researchers are optimistic about the overall impact this program will have on future funding opportunities as well as the speed at which future advancements in cyber security will occur.
