Networx contract offers first certified product for securing Internet connections

The General Services Administration has issued the first certification for a product agencies can use to secure Internet connections, a step toward improving network security.

AT&T Government Solutions, one service provider under GSA's massive Networx telecommunications contract, on Wednesday announced it had received the highest level of certification and accreditation available for its Managed Trusted Internet Protocol Services. The program allows agencies to manage and protect internal network connections to the Internet against viruses and other malicious attacks.

"When you get government decision-makers to approve something in security, that's a big thing," said Ray Bjorklund, senior vice president and chief knowledge officer for McLean, Va.-based consulting firm FedSources. "It gives not only a feather in the cap of the vendor, it also gives the seal of approval for government customers who know with a great amount of certainty that they can buy a solution and it will be compliant."

In November 2007, the Office of Management and Budget launched the Trusted Internet Connection initiative to limit network exposure to the Web. The plan calls for cutting the number of government network connections to the public Internet to 50. According to Bjorklund, agencies have made great progress considering their lack of resources has caused delays in meeting OMB's requirements.

MTIPS complies with OMB's mandate and allows service providers to identify security threats, notify agencies of the risks and reroute those attacks in real time, said Jeff Mohan, executive director of AT&T Government Solutions' Networx Program Office. AT&T is the first provider to receive authority to activate MTIPS services for agencies.

Agencies without complex security requirements could find AT&T's product fits their needs, but other combinations of technologies might be better suited for the CIA or the Defense Department, which need more sophisticated tools, Bjorklund said.

"For many agencies out there that are trying to meet the mandate of TIC and trying to migrate several networks into one, this becomes a great tool, but I don't know that it will meet everyone's security needs, especially for the [intelligence] community," he said.

According to AT&T's Mohan, the deployment of MTIPS is distinct from and in no way impedes agencies' transition to Networx, which is behind schedule and has drawn much criticism from lawmakers. GSA first issued the request for proposals for MTIPS two years ago, he said, but vendors can't ramp up their services until they receive authorization from the agency.

Qwest, another vendor on the Networx contract, also received an award to provide MTIPS. Spokesman Tom McMahon said the company is working with several agencies and has received an interim authorization from the Treasury Department's Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau.