[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 247 (Wednesday, December 27, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 61263-61264]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-27870]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Institute of Standards and Technology

[Docket No. 171115999-7999-01]


National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence (NCCoE) Mitigating 
Internet of Things (IoT) Based Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) 
Building Block

AGENCY: National Institute of Standards and Technology, Department of 
Commerce.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) 
invites organizations to provide products and technical expertise to 
support and demonstrate security platforms for the Mitigating IoT-Based 
DDoS Building Block. This notice is the initial step for the National 
Cybersecurity Center of Excellence (NCCoE) in collaborating with 
technology companies to address cybersecurity challenges identified 
under the Mitigating IoT-Based DDoS Building Block. Participation in 
the building block is open to all interested organizations.

DATES: Interested parties must contact NIST to request a letter of 
interest template to be completed and submitted to NIST. Letters of 
interest will be accepted on a first come, first served basis. 
Collaborative activities will commence as soon as enough completed and 
signed letters of interest have been returned to address all the 
necessary components and capabilities, but no earlier than January 26, 
2018. When the building block has been completed, NIST will post a 
notice on the NCCoE Mitigating IoT-Based DDoS Building Block website 
at: https://nccoe.nist.gov/projects/building-blocks/mitigating-iot-based-ddos announcing the completion of the building block and 
informing the public that it will no longer accept letters of interest 
for this building block.

ADDRESSES: The NCCoE is located at 9700 Great Seneca Highway, 
Rockville, MD 20850. Letters of interest must be submitted to 
[email protected] or via hardcopy to National 
Institute of Standards and Technology, NCCoE; 9700 Great Seneca 
Highway, Rockville, MD 20850. Organizations whose letters of interest 
are accepted in accordance with the process set forth in the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this notice will be asked to sign 
a consortium Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) 
with NIST. An NCCoE consortium CRADA template can be found at: http://nccoe.nist.gov/node/138.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tim Polk, William Haag and Murugiah 
Souppaya via email to [email protected]; by 
telephone 301-975-0239; or by mail to National Institute of Standards 
and Technology, NCCoE; 9700 Great Seneca Highway, Rockville, MD 20850. 
Additional details about the Mitigating IoT-Based DDoS Building Block 
are available at: https://nccoe.nist.gov/projects/building-blocks/mitigating-iot-based-ddos.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Background: The NCCoE, part of NIST, is a public-private 
collaboration for accelerating the widespread adoption of integrated 
cybersecurity tools and technologies. The NCCoE brings together experts 
from industry, government, and academia under one roof to develop 
practical, interoperable cybersecurity approaches that address the 
real-world needs of complex Information Technology (IT) systems. By 
accelerating dissemination and use of these integrated tools and 
technologies for protecting IT assets, the NCCoE will enhance trust in 
U.S. IT communications, data, and storage systems; reduce risk for 
companies and individuals using IT systems; and encourage development 
of innovative, job-creating cybersecurity products and services.
    Process: NIST is soliciting responses from all sources of relevant 
security capabilities (see below) to enter into a Cooperative Research 
and Development Agreement (CRADA) to provide products and technical 
expertise to support and demonstrate platforms for the Mitigating IoT-
Based DDoS Building Block. The full building block can be viewed at: 
https://nccoe.nist.gov/projects/building-blocks/mitigating-iot-based-ddos.
    Interested parties should contact NIST using the information 
provided in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of this notice. 
NIST will then provide each interested party with a letter of interest 
template, which the party must complete, certify that it is accurate, 
and submit to NIST. NIST will contact interested parties if there are 
questions regarding the responsiveness of the letters of interest to 
the building block objective or requirements identified below. NIST 
will select participants who have submitted complete letters of 
interest on a first come, first served basis within each category of 
product components or capabilities listed below up to the

[[Page 61264]]

number of participants in each category necessary to carry out this 
building block. However, there may be continuing opportunity to 
participate even after initial activity commences. Selected 
participants will be required to enter into a consortium CRADA with 
NIST (for reference, see ADDRESSES section above). NIST published a 
notice in the Federal Register on October 19, 2012 (77 FR 64314) 
inviting U.S. companies to enter into a National Cybersecurity 
Excellence Partnerships (NCEPs) in furtherance of the NCCoE. For this 
demonstration project, NCEP partners will not be given priority for 
participation.
    Building Block Objective: The building block objective is to 
improve the overall security of IoT devices. A detailed description of 
the Mitigating IoT-Based DDoS Building Block is available at: https://nccoe.nist.gov/projects/building-blocks/mitigating-iot-based-ddos.
    Requirements: Each responding organization's letter of interest 
should identify which security platform component(s) or capability(ies) 
it is offering. Letters of interest should not include company 
proprietary information, and all components and capabilities must be 
commercially available. Components are listed in section 3 of the 
Mitigating IoT-Based DDoS Building Block (for reference, please see the 
link in the PROCESS section above) and include, but are not limited to:

 Network gateways/routers supporting wired and wireless network 
access
 Personal computing devices (personal computers, tablets, and 
phones)
 Business computing devices
 Thermostats and temperature sensors in different rooms
 Home appliances (refrigerators, washers and dryers, stoves and 
microwaves)
 Heating ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems
 Lighting
 Digital video recorders (DVR)
 Closed-circuit TV cameras and Webcams
 Baby monitors
 Smart TVs
 Set top boxes
 Security cameras
 Point of sale devices
 Printer/scanners/fax machines
 Home assistants (e.g., Alexa)

    Each responding organization's letter of interest should identify 
how their products address one or more of the following desired 
solution characteristics in section 3 of the Mitigating IoT-Based DDoS 
Building Block (for reference, please see the link in the PROCESS 
section above):
     IoT device controllers are capable of address assignment 
and packet filtering based on routes that can be integrated into home 
or enterprise networks;
     Manufacturer Usage Description (MUD) controllers are able 
to retrieve MUD files from websites using the HTTPS protocol;
     MUD controllers are able to provide route filtering 
commands for enforcement by routers;
     MUD servers at participating websites are capable of 
storing and retrieving MUD files and providing device communications 
requirements to MUD controllers;
     IoT devices are capable of inserting the MUD extension 
into address requests when they are powered up;
     IoT devices are capable of contacting update servers to 
download and apply security patches;
     Routers and switches are capable of receiving threat feeds 
from cloud-based or infrastructure services like DNS that includes 
type, severity, and mitigation for threats; and
     Any cryptographic modules employed conform to FIPS 140-2.
    Responding organizations need to understand and, in their letters 
of interest, commit to provide:
    1. Access for all participants' project teams to component 
interfaces and the organization's experts necessary to make functional 
connections among security platform components.
    2. Support for development and demonstration of the Mitigating IoT-
Based DDoS Building Block in NCCoE facilities which will be conducted 
in a manner consistent with the following standards and guidance: OMB 
Circular A-130; NIST Special Publications 800-40; 800-52; 800-57; 800-
63; 800-147; 800-193; NISTIR 7823; NIST Framework for Improving 
Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity; Ongoing Manufacturer Usage 
Description (MUD) Standards activities including Manufacturer Usage 
Description Specification, MUD Lifecyle: A Network Operator's 
Perspective, and MUD Lifecyle: A Manufacturer's Perspective; and RFCs 
2131, 2818, 3315, 5280, 5652, and 6020.
    Additional details about the Mitigating IoT-Based DDoS Building 
Block are available at: https://nccoe.nist.gov/projects/building-blocks/mitigating-iot-based-ddos.
    NIST cannot guarantee that all of the products proposed by 
respondents will be used in the demonstration. Each prospective 
participant will be expected to work collaboratively with NIST staff 
and other project participants under the terms of the consortium CRADA 
in the development of the Mitigating IoT-Based DDoS Building Block. 
Prospective participants' contribution to the collaborative effort will 
include assistance in establishing the necessary interface 
functionality, connection and set-up capabilities and procedures, 
demonstration harnesses, environmental and safety conditions for use, 
integrated platform user instructions, and demonstration plans and 
scripts necessary to demonstrate the desired capabilities. Each 
participant will train NIST personnel, as necessary, to operate its 
product in capability demonstrations. Following successful 
demonstrations, NIST will publish a description of the security 
platform and its performance characteristics sufficient to permit other 
organizations to develop and deploy security platforms that meet the 
security objectives of the Mitigating IoT-Based DDoS Building Block. 
These descriptions will be public information.
    Under the terms of the consortium CRADA, NIST will support 
development of interfaces among participants' products by providing IT 
infrastructure, laboratory facilities, office facilities, collaboration 
facilities, and staff support to component composition, security 
platform documentation, and demonstration activities.
    The dates of the demonstration of the Mitigating IoT-Based DDoS 
Building Block capability will be announced on the NCCoE website at 
least two weeks in advance at http://nccoe.nist.gov/. The expected 
outcome of the demonstration is to improve security of IoT devices 
within the enterprise. Participating organizations will gain from the 
knowledge that their products are interoperable with other 
participants' offerings.
    For additional information on the NCCoE governance, business 
processes, and NCCoE operational structure, visit the NCCoE website 
http://nccoe.nist.gov/.

Kevin Kimball,
NIST Chief of Staff.
[FR Doc. 2017-27870 Filed 12-26-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-13-P