Cybersecurity is now an allowable cost on certain types of contracts.
Let that sink in for a second.
The Defense Department is telling its vendors that the government, in some cases, will pay for cybersecurity.
That is huge, and if — and it’s a very big “if” — the Pentagon follows through with its promise by not making it so arduous to allocate costs, so as long as they don’t make the allocation such a small percentage that it’s not worth it and so as long as they make it a true incentive, this is one of those moments in procurement history that we will all remember.
Katie Arrington, the special assistant to the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Acquisition for Cyber in the Office of the Under Secretary of Acquisition and Sustainment in DoD, made this bold statement before a roomful of vendors.
“I need you all now to get out your pens and you better write this down and tell your teams: Hear it from Katie Arrington, who got permission to say it from Mr. [Kevin] Fahey [the…
