Plans underway to secure 5 million DoD computers

McAfee and Northrop Grumman have started implementing a $9.7 million deal with the Department of Defense to secure 5 million desktop and notebook computers and services. Officials say it is helping to secure DOD's Secret Internet Protocol Router Network (SIPRNet), in addition to its Non-Classified Internet Protocol Router Network (NIPRNet).

"The program is giving cyber command a top-level view," providing critical information to organizations such as the newly created 24^th Air Force at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, which is responsible for Air Force cyber operations, Tom Conway, director for federal business development at McAfee, tells Defense Systems.

Conway said the deployment marks the largest single software mandate for DoD, security or otherwise.

It "is the last line of defense, but also the first--it's 360-degree protection, even from inside threats. It offers better visibility into what the network looks like and how it behaves," Conway said.

For more on the program:
- check out this Defense Systems article