Pentagon seeks tight ties with cyber contractors

The Defense Department aims to tighten ties with its cyber security contractors to help thwart mounting threats to sensitive networks, said Robert Butler, deputy assistant secretary of defense for cyber policy.

Suppliers include Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Northrop Grumman, BAE Systems and Raytheon. The department's use of top-level system integrators and entrepreneurs will continue to grow along with the need for so-called "active" defenses that scan incoming code to shield network perimeters, Butler said. "And as we thread those together, what we want to do is a very very tight partnership with industry," he said. One key goal, Butler said, was to cut the lag between development of new protective technology and its deployment. He said the department also wants to promote supplier diversity, partly to guard its information technology supply chain against compromise.