DHS awards contracts for cyber security innovation

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) science and technology research arm has awarded 34 contracts totaling $40 million to support innovation and improved critical infrastructure security. The DHS Science and Technology Directorate announced the contract winners – which include organizations and schools in the United States – on Wednesday. Rutgers University, the University of Southern California's Information Sciences Institute, Columbia University and Carnegie Mellon University were among the recipients. The contracts support the National Strategy to Secure Cyberspace, a DHS initiative introduced in 2003 to spur development of security products and solutions, and to spread awareness of cyber risks.