NIST to Sponsor Cybersecurity FFRDC

Today the National Institute of Standards and Technology published a notice in the Federal Register (78 FR 37521-37522) re-announcing their intention to “to sponsor a Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDC) to facilitate public-private collaboration for accelerating the widespread adoption of integrated cybersecurity tools and technologies”. This is the second of three required notices; the first was published on April 22nd.

NIST hosts the National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence (NCCoE), “a public-private collaboration for accelerating the widespread adoption of integrated cybersecurity tools and technologies”. NIST has determined that they need to establish an FFRDC to support the mission of the NCCoE. The FFRDC will have three main purposes:

• Research, Development, Engineering and Technical support;

• Program/Project Management, to include but not limited to expert advice and guidance in the areas of program and project management focused on increasing the effectiveness and efficiency of cybersecurity applications, prototyping, demonstrations, and technical activities; and

• Facilities Management.

In the area of RDE&T support the FFRDC will:

• Establish relationships with private sector organizations;

• Develop research, frameworks and implementation strategies for inducing industry to invest in and expedite adoption of effective cybersecurity controls and mechanisms;

• Provide systems engineering support to NCCoE programs and proposed security platform development, selection, and implementation;

• Generate technical expertise to create a relevant cybersecurity workforce; and

• Deliver strategies and plans for applying cybersecurity standards, guidelines, and best practice inducements.