Software developer will use the funds to implement new cybersecurity techniques
New York-based cybersecurity group, GrammaTech, has been awarded a $9 million, three-year contract from the Office of Naval Research, a division of the US Navy, to perform research and development into “cutting-edge techniques” for protecting software from cyberattacks.
The goal of GrammaTech’s contribution to the overall Navy program is to advance the field of transforming existing software applications so that they are tailored for specific new situations. This tailoring will produce simplified programs that are safer, more secure, and more efficient, the company said.
GrammaTech's approach will automate the removal of “irrelevant layers of abstraction, indirection, and other inefficiencies” that are introduced into applications as a consequence of modern software-development practices.
The system will be built from binary code transformation technologies that contributed to the firm’s success at the DARPA Cyber Grand Challenge in 2016, where the company was awarded a million-dollar prize for its second-place finish.
“Binary code transformation is a key capability for many legacy Naval applications,” said Tim Teitelbaum, CEO of GrammaTech. “It allows the Navy to re-use existing applications in new contexts in a very affordable fashion, while protecting systems from ever-evolving cyber threats.”