Kryptowire, CIRI win DHS Bang for the Buck Award

3/19/2019

Kryptowire and the Critical Infrastructure Resilience Institute (CIRI) are the recipients of the 2019 “Bang for the Buck Award” from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science & Technology Directorate (S&T). The award, given to S&T-funded efforts that have made a large impact for a relatively small budget, was presented March 19 at the 2019 S&T Cybersecurity and Innovation Showcase held at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel in Washington, D.C., recognized Kryptowire and CIRI’s cybersecurity and public safety research. 

Kryptowire and CIRI receiving DHS Bang for the Buck Award
Kryptowire and CIRI receiving DHS Bang for the Buck Award
S&T’s cybersecurity mission is to enhance the security and resilience of the nation’s critical information infrastructure and the internet by developing and delivering new technologies, tools and techniques to defend against cyberattacks. S&T conducts and supports technology transitions and leads and coordinates R&D among the R&D community, which includes DHS operational components, government agencies, the private sector and international partners. Kryptowire and CIRI, a DHS Center of Excellence led by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, worked cooperatively on an automated system for the detection of prepositioned cyber-threats in mobile applications, Internet of Things (IoT), embedded systems and critical infrastructure technologies. 

“The framework we developed enables analysts to automatically discover pre-existing security vulnerabilities in the supply chain that open up mobile and IoT devices to threats, such as the collection of personally identifiable information (PII) that cannot be detected by existing mobile threat detection technologies. We exposed zero-day vulnerabilities in devices from all four major U.S. mobile carriers, as well as several smaller carriers," said Angelos Stavrou, CEO of Kryptowire.

“It's a great honor for our team to be recognized by DHS for our efforts to deliver high value research for the budget provided,” said Randall Sandone, Executive Director of CIRI. “We take great pride in being recognized for efficiently developing and deploying impactful technology solutions for our customers in both the government and private sectors. We salute our partner, Kryptowire, for their outstanding work on this project.”

The 2019 S&T Cybersecurity and Innovation Showcase is the federal government’s largest cybersecurity research and development (R&D) conference. The Showcase is a unique venue for DHS S&T to introduce its funded research projects to government and industry technology implementers.

This year's theme—Solutions Now, Innovations for the Future—highlighted S&T’s support to DHS operational components and stakeholders in cybersecurity R&D.

About Kryptowire

Kryptowire automatically tests and validates the security of mobile and IoT firmware and applications to the highest government and industry software assurance standards. Kryptowire was jumpstarted by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in 2011. They are based in McLean, Virginia, USA and have a customer base ranging from government agencies to national cable TV companies, utility companies, and gaming companies. For more information, visit kryptowire.com.

About CIRI

The Critical Infrastructure Resilience Institute (CIRI) conducts research and education that enhances the resiliency of the nation’s critical infrastructures and the businesses and public entities that own and operate those assets and systems. The Institute is carrying out its mission by emphasizing outputs-oriented research, technology transition, and workforce development. CIRI is funded by a $20 million five-year grant from the Department of Homeland Security. It is led by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with collaborators from other U.S. universities and national labs.