CybersecurityFederally funded network anomaly-detection technology licensed to Ernst & Young

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) the other day announced that another cybersecurity technology has been licensed for commercialization. This is S&T’s fourth technology that has successfully advanced through the Transition to Practice (TTP) program to the commercial market. The PathScan technology, developed by Los Alamos National Laboratory, is a network anomaly-detection tool which is being licensed to Ernst & Young LLP (EY). With this license, EY will bring PathScan to the private sector for the very first time.

“Innovative technology solutions are key to keeping pace with today’s cyber threats,” said DHS Under Secretary for Science and Technology Dr. Reginald Brothers. “Our TTP program is bridging the gap between the private sector and national labs to help transition lab technology to the commercial market.”

S&T says that in 2012, the TTP program identified PathScan as a promising candidate for transition to the commercial marketplace. By utilizing statistical models to identity network behavior, this technology quickly detects the movement of hackers once they breach the network and allows operational teams to quickly defend important network information.

“Public and private sector enterprise organizations need technologies that bring innovative approaches to bear so they are able to detect and defend against sophisticated cyberattacks,” said TTP Program Manager Mike Pozmantier. “The PathScan technology is an example of a tool that does this, and if the cybersecurity industry can bring these types of services and tools to market, the playing field will start to level between the offense and defense.”

The TTP program, established in 2012 as part of S&T’s Cybersecurity Division, looks to transition federally funded cybersecurity technologies from the laboratory to enterprise consumers. The program, led by S&T’s Michael Pozmantier, also seeks to create institutional relationships between the cyber research community, investors, end users, and information technology companies by showcasing the technologies across the country to develop pilot and collaborative opportunities.

“Besides identifying mature government-funded cybersecurity technologies for potential transition, TTP’s priority is to connect the federal research community and private industry,” said Pozmantier.

“Historically these groups have had  infrequent interactions. If we can help develop these relationships it will reduce the time it takes to transition necessary technology into practice.”

S&T says that each year the TTP program selects eight promising cyber technologies to incorporate into its 36-month program. S&T introduces these technologies to end users around the country with the goal of transitioning them to investors, developers or manufacturers that can advance them and turn them into commercially viable products.

Now in its third year, TTP has twenty-four technologies (eight from fiscal year 2013, nine from 2014, and seven from 2015) which are ready for transition to the marketplace. Four of those technologies — Quantum Secured Communication , Hyperion, NeMS, and now Pathscan — have successfully transitioned to the marketplace through commercial licenses. S&T says that during the next few months it will introduce eight new technologies to TTP’s FY16 class and will start to showcase these technologies within critical infrastructure sectors and to potential investors.

S&T anticipates that the successful transition of PathScan to the commercial marketplace will open the door to new technology partners and raise the visibility of other worthy technologies developed by the national labs as solutions to complex cybersecurity challenges.