[Infowarrior] - RFP: Dominant Cyber Offensive Engagement and Supporting Technology

[Richard Forno]

Dominant Cyber Offensive Engagement and Supporting Technology
Solicitation Number: BAA-08-04-RIKA
Agency: Department of the Air Force
Office: Air Force Materiel Command
Location: AFRL - Rome Research Site

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http://tinyurl.com/3egwsb

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I. FUNDING OPPORTUNITY DESCRIPTION:

Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL)/RI is soliciting white papers for  
various scientific studies and experiments to increase our knowledge  
and understanding of the broad range of capabilities required in  
support of Dominant Cyber Offensive Engagement and Supporting  
Technology, to include testing of prototype capabilities. Solutions to  
basic and applied research and engineering for the problems relating  
to Dominant Cyber Offensive Engagement and Supporting Technology are  
sought. This includes high risk, high payoff capabilities for gaining  
access to any remotely located open or closed computer information  
systems; these systems enabling full control of a network for the  
purposes of information gathering and effects based operations. Of  
interest are any and all techniques to enable user and/or root level  
access to both fixed (PC) or mobile computing platforms. Robust  
methodologies to enable access to any and all operating systems, patch  
levels, applications and hardware are of interest. Also, we are  
interested in technology to provide the capability to maintain an  
active presence within the adversaries' information infrastructure  
completely undetected. Of interest are any and all techniques to  
enable stealth and persistence capabilities on an adversaries  
infrastructure. This could be a combination of hardware and/or  
software focused development efforts.

Following this, it is desired to have the capability to stealthily  
exfiltrate information from any remotely-located open or closed  
computer information systems with the possibility to discover  
information with previously unknown existence. Any and all techniques  
to enable exfiltration techniques on both fixed and mobile computing  
platforms are of interest. Consideration should be given to  
maintaining a "low and slow" gathering paradigm in these development  
efforts to enable stealthy operation. Finally, this BAA's objective  
includes the capability to provide a variety of techniques and  
technologies to be able to affect computer information systems through  
Deceive, Deny, Disrupt, Degrade, Destroy (D5) effects. Of interest are  
any and all techniques including enabling D5 effects to computers and  
their networks; integration of effects with Access, Stealth and  
Persistence and Cybint capabilities; command and control of effects;  
and determining effects' link to operational impact. In addition to  
these main concepts, we desire to have research efforts in the  
supporting areas including (but not limited to): Information Assurance  
through Flattened Computer Architectures in special application/user  
environments; NGPSec: Secure Next Generation Protocol Suite to  
investigate feasibility and determine whether reinventing the network  
protocol stack can be done and the resulting success quantified;  
Proactive Botnet Defense Technology Development specifically as  
applies to new ideas/concepts for practical application; Carbon  
nanotubes for high density interconnects and RF applications, to allow  
for incorporating novel IA designs into computer architectures through  
nanotube interconnects with nanotube based RF peripherals (antennas).

Research efforts under this program are expected to result in complete  
functional capabilities ideally addressing the Dominant Cyber  
Offensive Engagement problem. However, projects specializing in highly  
novel and interesting applicable techniques will also be considered,  
if deemed to be of "breakthrough" quality and importance. The  
effectiveness of the developed technologies for potential operational  
use will be assessed through preplanned testing and evaluation  
activities. Technologies that can be transitioned for operational use  
are of high interest. Offerors are encouraged to describe the pre- 
conditions that are necessary for the proposed techniques to work  
efficiently.

Offerors are encouraged to submit classified white papers via the  
appropriate channels. Contact the technical point of contact listed in  
Section VII before submitting any classified white papers.

This effort includes any and all techniques to enable user and/or root  
level access to both fixed (PC) or mobile computing platforms, using  
robust methodologies to enable access to operating systems, patch  
levels, applications, and hardware of interest. Further techniques  
include enabling of stealth and persistence capabilities on an  
adversarial infrastructure, possibly in combination with hardware and/ 
or software focused development. In addition, other areas include  
techniques to enable exfiltration on both fixed and mobile computing  
platforms with consideration given to maintaining a "low and slow"  
gathering paradigm to enable stealthy operation. Finally the effort  
includes any and all techniques to enable D5 effects to computers/ 
networks; and integration of these effects with access, stealth,  
persistence, Cybint capabilities; command and control of effects; and  
determination of effects link operational impact. Deliverables will be  
technical reports, software, demonstrations, and results of  
experiments which provide evidence and metrics concerning the  
assertions/claims about the research. Demonstrations may involve  
exploratory development models (ie brassboards) if appropriate.