Telco Systems Gets $20 Million Government Contract to Build Secure Network

Telco Systems (News - Alert) has announced that a government agency has awarded the company a contract worth over $20 million over the next five years.

Telco will build a cyber-security solution for a government defense ministry. Which ministry wasn’t specified, most likely for security reasons.

"We are proud to be selected as the sole supplier for the delivery of a strategic cyber-security solution of this magnitude,” Ariel Efrati, Telco Systems' CEO, said. “Our relentless pursuit of innovation together with our premium-level products and substantial, field-proven expertise are the keys to success for such a long-term and demanding commitment."

The system will be deployed in two stages between the fourth quarter of 2015 and the first quarter of 2016. Telco will make use of Celare Cyber Systems’ software, owned by Telco’s parent company BATM, to secure the network, and its own 10G infrastructure.

When complete, the system will attempt to detect ordinary network threats and advanced persistent threats (APT (News - Alert)).

The deal shows how Uncle Sam is one of the biggest and most lucrative IT customers. The deal is initially worth $3.7 million, a figure most companies would kill for. The contract will then grow to $10 million by 2017, and to $20 million over the next five years.

With that kind of money, Telco had to jump through some hoops. The government conducted a two-year proof-of-concept program which determined that Telco was “best-of-breed.”

If $20 million seems like a lot of money to spend, there’s a lot on the line. The government is paying a lot of attention to computer and network security. The recent OPM breach shows how important it is for federal systems need to be well protected.

Government systems are a big target for hackers because they store a lot of confidential data. Defense networks could be used for espionage or even cyberwarfare, though the crucial parts the military uses for communications and coordination are in theory inaccessible to the public. Still, they want to make their networks as secure as possible.