The tool will balance performance needs against security risks. Credit: CL STOCK/Shutterstock.

RTX BBN Technologies has secured a contract to bolster the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s (DARPA) cyber resiliency programme.

The initiative, known as the Compartmentalization and Privilege Management (CPM) programme, is designed to protect software systems by dividing them into secure compartments, thus preventing cyber breaches from escalating.

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Since 2015, the US Department of Defense has faced over 12,000 cyber incidents, according to the Government Accountability Office.

Under CPM, BBN is working on the development of the Analysis and Restructuring for Containment (ARC) tool to stop unauthorised privilege escalations and lateral movements within software systems.

ARC will be designed to automatically analyse extensive code bases to create smaller, secure compartments, adhering to the principle of least privilege to limit access and mitigate potential damage from cyber infiltrations.

The development of ARC aims to maintain system efficiency while ensuring robust security.

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The tool will balance performance needs against security risks, allowing system administrators to apply security measures selectively to critical system components.

The team plans to integrate automated programme analysis, verifiable programme restructuring, and automated reasoning to create a comprehensive security solution that weighs performance against risk.

The collaborative effort for the CPM programme includes partners from Northwestern University, George Washington University, and Kestrel Institute.

Work is planned to be conducted across various locations, including Cambridge, Massachusetts; Evanston, Illinois; Washington, DC; and Palo Alto, California.

BBN principal investigator Aaron Paulos said: “Today’s complex attack surfaces and increasingly sophisticated cyberattacks mean that even a single point of vulnerability can compromise an entire system.

“Our solution will enhance the security of critical software systems while preserving performance, which is essential for maintaining operational readiness. The goal is to create compartments that isolate risks, making systems more resistant to cyberattacks.”