Sydney J. Freedberg Jr. reports:
AUSA 2024 — Army undersecretary Gabe Camarillo announced here Tuesday that the service would create a secure online enclave where small businesses can work with sensitive information under the Army’s protection — a potential lifeline for smaller firms struggling to meet Pentagon cybersecurity requirements and defend themselves against high-end threats like China.
Known as NCODE — an acronym for Next-gen Commercial Operations in Defended Enclaves — the program will begin with a two-year, $26 million pilot project in 2025-2027, Camarillo said. Further details, including how small businesses can apply to join the NCODE pilot, will start coming out in “days,” he told a packed conference room.
“This essentially provides … a secure environment for small businesses to participate in, where they can collaborate, share information, and most importantly, do their own work … that would otherwise present a threat vector,” Camarillo said. “What’s great about it is that it’s compliant with CMMC [Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification], so all of the department’s requirements would be met by operating in this environment.”
Read more at BreakingDefense.