C.$500k contract win for US DOE Program

Narf Industries plc (LSE: Narf), the cybersecurity group specialising in high-end threat intelligence and critical infrastructure security, is pleased to announce that it has won a circa $500k contract having been selected by the US Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Cybersecurity Energy Security and Emergency Response (CESER) to join a select team focused on fortifying the nation's critical infrastructure.

Known as DISCOVER (Digital Twin Security and Code Verification), CESER's three-year project aims to introduce new cybersecurity tools to reduce risks and strengthen resilience of energy infrastructure including the power grid, utilities, pipelines, and renewable energy sources. DISCOVER's digital twin approach will allow the team to analyse and evaluate updates to software and firmware before they are deployed to actual devices in power systems, using advanced techniques like hybrid static-dynamic analysis, fuzzing, and anomaly detection to ensure security and functionality.

Led by New York University (NYU) Tandon School Engineering, the team includes NARF, Con Edison, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and Pennsylvania State University. NARF's integral role in the project is to define a market transition path for DISCOVER to make the technology available to a broad set of utilities and asset owners with a wide variety of constraints and use cases.

Michael E. Locasto, VP, Government Research and Development of NARF said: "There is a tremendous opportunity to help amplify the impact of hard-pressed cyber defenders of OT systems across multiple energy sectors. One critical function is to rapidly analyse systems prior to deployment to derive cybersecurity behaviour baselines so that we can collectively have more trust in the operation of these devices under attack and knowledgeably and rapidly respond to active attacks like ransomware with confidence."

Steve Bassi, CEO of NARF said: "While NARF will receive circa 10% of the three-year $4.8 million grant, our biggest win is being chosen to be part of such an illustrious team that leverages our previous DOE contract Tracking Real-time Anomalies in Power Systems (TRAPS). These activities, along with an earlier announced collaboration with MITRE to develop a new threat model (RNS dated 18 December 2023), is part of NARF's Government Research and Development Business Sector strategy to synergistically leverage multiple projects to drive innovative research into larger scale commercially viable solutions and contracts.

"These exciting initiatives aimed at mitigating risks and enhancing the resilience of critical energy infrastructure will employ cutting-edge methodologies designed by world leaders to assess software and firmware updates prior to their integration into real-world devices within power systems."