Homeland Open Security Technology

Homeland Open Security Technology

Establishment	2011
Sponsor	Department of Homeland Security's Science and Technology Directorate
Primary contractor	Georgia Tech Research Institute
Other contractors	Center for Agile Technology Open Source Software Institute Open Information Security Foundation
Website	www.cyber.st.dhs.gov/host/

Homeland Open Security Technology (HOST) is a five-year, $10 million program by the Department of Homeland Security's Science and Technology Directorate to promote the creation and use of open security and open-source software in the United States government and military, especially in areas pertaining to computer security.^[1][2][3][4]

Proponent David A. Wheeler claims that open-source security could also extend to hardware and written documents.^[5][6] In October 2011, the project won the Open Source for America 2011 Government Deployment Open Source Award.^[7]

Participants

The project is contracted to the Open Technology Research Consortium which consists of the Georgia Tech Research Institute (primary), the Center for Agile Technology at the University of Texas at Austin, the Open Source Software Institute, and the Open Information Security Foundation.^[8][9][10] The project has contributed funding towards the OpenSSL Software Foundation and the Open Information Security Foundation.^[11][12]

Events

In October 2012, HOST hosted the Open Cybersecurity Summit in Washington, D.C.; it was a one-day summit with a keynote by Stewart A. Baker, former Assistant Secretary for Policy of the Department of Homeland Security.^[13][14][15]

Investments

• Suricata - An open source-based intrusion detection system (IDS). It was developed by the Open Information Security Foundation (OISF). A beta version was released in December 2009, with the first standard release following in July 2010.^[16]
• OpenSSL FIPS 140-2 Validation - The Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) Publication 140-2, FIPS PUB 140-2, is a U.S. government computer security standard used to accredit cryptographic modules. The title is Security Requirements for Cryptographic Modules. Initial publication was on May 25, 2001 and was last updated December 3, 2002.^[17]

References

1. "Georgia Tech Research Institute Will Lead $10 Million Department of Homeland Security Open Cyber Security Initiative". Georgia Tech Research Institute. Retrieved 2011-10-14.
2. "DHS, Georgia Tech seek to improve security with open-source tools". Government Computer News. 2011-07-01. Retrieved 2011-10-14.
3. "Georgia Tech Research Institute Leads $10 M Open Source Initiative". Georgia Institute of Technology. 2011-05-17. Retrieved 2011-10-14.
4. Hsu, Jeremy (2011-05-26). "U.S. Considers Open-Source Software for Cybersecurity". MSNBC. Retrieved 2011-10-14.
5. Perera, David (2013-08-29). "Open security isn't just software, say government open source advocates". FierceGovernmentIT. Retrieved 2013-09-07.
6. Wheeler, David A (2013-08-21). "What is open security?" (PDF). Institute for Defense Analyses. Open Security. Retrieved 2013-09-07.
7. Rockwell, Mark (2011-10-18). "DHS technology directorate wins awards for cyber security efforts". Government Security News. Retrieved 2011-10-24.
8. Maddux, Rachael (2011-11-07). "Digital Warrior". Georgia Tech Alumni Magazine. Georgia Tech Alumni Association. Retrieved 2011-11-11.
9. "Homeland Open Security Technology (HOST)". DHS Cyber Security R&D Center. Retrieved 2011-10-14.
10. Duffy, Jill (2011-05-18). "Georgia Tech to Lead $10M Open-Source Homeland Security Initiative". PC Magazine. Retrieved 2011-10-24.
11. "Customers". OpenSSL Software Foundation. Retrieved 2011-10-24.
12. "Consortium Members". Open Information Security Foundation. Retrieved 2011-10-24.
13. Garrick, Joshua (2012-10-26). "GTRI hosts national cybersecurity summit". The Technique. Retrieved 2012-10-26.
14. "GTRI and HOST create first Open Cybersecurity Summit in D.C.". Georgia Institute of Technology. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
15. "Open Cybersecurity Summit 2012". SignUp4. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
16. "Suricata Downloads". Open Security Information Foundation. Retrieved 2011-11-08.
17. "OpenSSL and FIPS 140-2 Validation Status". OpenSSL. Retrieved 2011-11-08.

External links

• Homeland Open Security Technology (HOST)
• Open Information Security Foundation (OISF)