Emerging Technology

DHS lays out research priorities

The Department of Homeland Security is looking to improve capabilities in a range of technology areas, including identity management, blockchain forensics, biometrics, cybersecurity and machine learning for scanners.

The Small Business Innovation Research program at DHS issued pre-solicitation notices on Nov. 30, looking for input on these and other research topics, with responses due Dec. 18.

The research topics point to areas where DHS is interested in developing new capabilities or extending existing competencies.

DHS is looking to improve "on-the-fly" identity management, with an eye to enhancing information sharing in emergency situations at the local and federal level. Interjurisdictional information sharing can be a roadblock in emergency situations, and more rapid identity, credentialing and access management systems are needed to help with both sharing and authenticating new users.

The office also wants to develop a peer-to-peer cybersecurity "lessons learned tool" that would share insights from successful cybersecurity risk management and other techniques. Although the agency said the National Institute of Science and Technology provides an effective framework for risk management, there is no realistic, day-to-day risk management tool that can capture and report the experiences of companies and connect them with comparable experience of other organizations and companies to manage risk.

In another cybersecurity risk management effort, the agency said it wants to develop network modeling capabilities to identify risks within networks and develop "what-if" capabilities to test those networks.

DHS is also interested in improving rapid DNA profiling for verification of kinship claims at border crossings and enhancing the technology's existing capability so that results of such DNA tests will stand up against scrutiny in court.

For first responders, DHS wants a chemical sensing capability that could be used to detect dangerous compounds in situations ranging from environmental monitoring to firefighting. To help transportation security workers, DHS is looking to improve machine learning on millimeter wave body scanners and X-ray explosion detection systems. For law enforcement, DHS wants to provide a blockchain forensics capability to help track cryptocurrency transactions.