Viasat a global communications company, today announced it was awarded a Department of Defense (DoD) contract to provide vulnerability assessment testing and response support under a new pilot program focused on improving the cybersecurity and resilience of DoD weapon systems. Viasat will be the first external cybersecurity team to perform these assessments through the pilot, which aims to drive efficiencies to automate mission and threat-based security assessments at-scale using analytics and a proven methodology for intelligence gathering, threat modeling, vulnerability analysis and exploitation.

As part of the pilot, Viasat will analyze key components within a highly complex, interconnected DoD weapon system architecture that could be vulnerable to an attack. The analysis will also include cyber and software defined radio threat assessments to address networking, Internet of Things and radio frequency interfaces to the weapon system.

“DoD’s leadership focus on weapon system cyber resilience is essential. Recent cyberattacks against the U.S. government provide a clear reminder that we must minimize vulnerabilities through active insights and harden core networks,” said Craig Miller, president, Viasat Government Systems. “As the battlespace is modernizing quickly, and the use of commercial technologies and systems are being rapidly deployed in DoD’s infrastructure, performing robust vulnerability assessment tests is critical to identifying and addressing potential gaps in technology, as well as determining if platforms are potentially vulnerable to attack.”

Miller continued, “Viasat takes a holistic approach to cybersecurity and we’re excited to partner with the DoD to provide a comprehensive, scalable vulnerability assessment capability, leveraging the power of analytics-based automation to create efficiencies and enable rapid and continuous evaluations. This will help keep pace with commercial technology development and chart a path to artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) driven threat-based cybersecurity assessments.”

Viasat was selected based on its extensive experience and award-winning expertise in DoD cybersecurity, as well as its unique view of the threat landscape across global government and commercial services and a customizable approach to information security.

For 35 years, Viasat has been a provider of cybersecurity and information assurance systems to secure U.S. Government, critical infrastructure and commercial networks. As a global satellite internet service provider, Viasat protects its networks and prevents billions of cyberattacks daily. Its history and expertise, paired with expert analysis of data across its network, provides a diverse view of the global cyber threat landscape that allows for the creation and delivery of expert-level security solutions.