Census Bureau Requests Assistance in Framing Cybersecurity Strategy for Next Decade

The Census Bureau has issued a Request for Information (RFI) to help determine their cybersecurity acquisition strategy for the next decade. The RFI solicits information on industry best practices on cybersecurity and seeks recommendation on how to best acquire the knowledge and expertise to meet cybersecurity needs over the next ten years.

According to the posted RFI, “The [U.S. Census Bureau (USCB)] intends to leverage industry knowledge and expertise on proven approaches and best practices to achieve the highest level of cyber defense and resilience in accordance with federal and legislative requirements.  The USCB intends to mature an enterprise cybersecurity program to enable a fully informed risk based approach that considers the complex and diverse technology environment in place across various program offices.”

The stated objective of the request is to “deliver adaptive cybersecurity” support services that meet technology and business requirements as well as federal requirements.

The RFI outlines four request areas from which 16 questions are derived for industry partners to provide input:

·       Capabilities- The RFI requests industry partners report company capabilities including technical expertise, recruitment retention, and overall approach in managing a federal enterprise-wide cybersecurity program.

·       Similar Experience- The USCB is requesting your organization’s similar experience including subcontractor relationships and especially experience in the intelligence community.

·       Acquisition- The RFI requests input on contracting types and pricing models currently in use by organizations commenting and the most meaningful evaluation criteria used in solicitations for the commenter. The RFI also asks organizations to “describe any other information not previously included in your organization’s response to this RFI that would be important for the USCB to consider in determining a strategy, requirements, risks for a cybersecurity acquisition, and post-award implementation of the contract.”

·       Feedback- Finally, the RFI requests “feedback on industry best practices to support enterprise-wide cybersecurity program.”

The Office of Information Security within the Census Bureau will be leading this initiative and reviewing the responses by industry partners.

Interested parties can provide responses via email to Dijon.F.Ferdinand@census.gov and Kristina.D.Hartman@census.gov no later than Thursday, July 15, 2020.