DOD awards $200M pact to create information assurance center

The Defense Department ratcheted up its commitment to information assurance yesterday when the Defense Technical Information Center awarded a 10-year, $200 million contract to Booz-Allen&Hamilton Inc. to man and operate an information assurance center.

DTIC's Information Assurance Technology Analysis Center (IATAC) will act as the central point of contact for scientific and technical data concerning information assurance technologies, critical system vulnerabilities, and research and analysis used to develop effective defenses against information warfare attacks.

In conjunction with DTIC, the Office of the Director of Defense Research and Engineering, the Office of Assistant Secretary of Defense for Command, Control, Communications and Intelligence, the Defense Information Systems Agency and the Joint Staff will sponsor IATAC. IATAC is one of 13 centers operated and funded under DTIC. There are 11 other information analysis centers operated by various Defense department organizations.