The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) helps improve cybersecurity capabilities through strategic research and development (R&D) in the areas of mitigation, solution development, and resilience. In line with the DHS Cybersecurity Strategy, S&T brings together leading innovators in academia, industry and government to identify new tools and tactics that can help network owners and operators overcome emerging cyber-threats. Watch the video and read below to learn more about the technologies and capabilities we deliver to keep our networks, devices, and cyber infrastructure safe!
Resilience
S&T strengthens security on the Internet of Things (IoT)
- The Cyber Physical Systems Security (CPSSEC) project addresses security concerns to protect IoT-connected systems in automobiles, medical devices and building controls.
- The Smart Cities project oversees the Global City Teams Challenge with the National Institute of Standards and Technology to improve cybersecurity for smart city systems.
S&T protects mobile devices from evolving cyber threats
- The Mobile Application Security project helps incorporate security-by-design to mobile app security tools that assist developers, analysts and security and network operators.
- The Mobile Device Security project promotes safe and secure adoption of mobile technology within DHS and across the federal government.
S&T helps secure networks from cyber-attacks
- The Distributed Denial of Service Defense project deploys best practices that can help slow attack scale growth and defend emergency management telephony systems.
- The Federated Security project brings together voluntary teams of organizations to share information and resources that can strengthen their cybersecurity capabilities.
Solution Development
S&T makes it easier for law enforcement to investigate cyber crimes
- The Anonymous Networks and Currencies project develops new cost-effective solutions to help law enforcement agencies investigate criminal activity taking place on anonymous networks and with cryptocurrencies.
- The Cybersecurity Forensics project develops tools and techniques law enforcement can use to investigate criminal and terrorist activity on mobile devices, GPS units, and more.
S&T promotes cutting-edge cyber research
- The Cyber Risk Economics (CYRIE) project supports research into the business, legal, technical and behavioral aspects of cyber-threats to improve decision-making for critical infrastructure owners and operators.
- The Information Marketplace for Policy and Analysis of Cyber-risk and Trust (IMPACT) facilities information-sharing among the global cybersecurity R&D community.
Mitigation
S&T keeps critical infrastructure up and running
- The Next Generation Cyber Infrastructure (NGCI) Apex program is addressing the cyber challenges facing our nation’s critical infrastructure sectors to prevent adversaries from infiltrating our systems through the development of tools and technologies.
- The Distribute Environment for Critical Infrastructure Decision-making Exercises (DECIDE) project is advancing state-of-the-art critical infrastructure protection exercises to prepare an effective response to a high-consequence financial sector event.
S&T strengthens software starting in the development phase
- The Application Security Threat and Attack Modeling (ASTAM) project make it easier to identify potential cybersecurity risks through automated software analysis.
- The Software Assurance Marketplace (SWAMP) provides secure, dependable analysis to help reduce the number of vulnerabilities deployed in new software systems.
- The Software Quality Assurance project addresses challenges with software security analysis and coding to help eliminate weaknesses early in the development process.
S&T is the primary research and development arm for DHS’s operational components and the nation’s first responders. S&T helps improve the safety and effectiveness of homeland security professionals by developing innovative solutions with public and private sector partners. Our approach involves:
S&T relies on partnerships with industry, academia, and technology developers to continue providing next-generation solutions that improve responder safety and effectiveness. If you’re interested in helping strengthen the nation’s homeland security, visit our Work with S&T page to discover the many ways to work with S&T. Then, check out the rest of our website and follow S&T on Facebook, Instagram, X, YouTube and LinkedIn for the latest updates on our work. Download a printable version of this page now.