GSA OKs five cybersecurity software firms

The General Services Administration has reached agreement with five companies to supply cybersecurity tools to federal agencies to help them ward off attacks.

The deal will allow agencies to purchase situational awareness incident response (SAIR) software tools at a discount from Autonomic Resources of North Carolina; Intelligent Decisions Inc. of Virginia; Merlin International of Colorado; Patriot Technologies of Maryland and the Winvale Group of Washington, DC.

The GSA said it worked with the Department of Homeland Security on the technical specifications. The new tools will help agencies scan for vulnerabilities, and quickly update desktop computers.

"A chain's only as strong as the weakest link," said Lawrence Hale, director of infrastructure optimization at GSA's Office of Integrated Technology Services. "These tools help you identify that link. You can find systems on your network that haven't been kept up to date, identify them and push updates to make sure everything you're responsible for is kept current with the correct security configuration."

For more on these tools:
- see this nextgov.com article