US Air Force Awards ReFirm Labs $1M Contract to Accelerate IoT Security Innovation

ReFirm Labs’ Expertise in Vetting, Validating and Continuously Monitoring the Security of the Firmware That Runs IoT and Embedded Devices Will Assist Usaf in Solving Critical Security Challenges in Its Supply Chain for Aircraft and Communication Systems

ReFirm Labs, a provider of the industry’s first proactive IoT and firmware security solutions, announced it has been awarded a $1 million Phase II Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract from the U.S. Air Force (USAF) Life Cycle Management Center (AFLCMC). A follow-on investment to ReFirm Labs’ $50,000 Phase I contract awarded by AFLCMC in August, the new contract will enable larger-scale research on identifying security vulnerabilities in embedded firmware used in USAF aircraft and information systems.

“We’re enthusiastic about continuing our collaboration on innovative solutions for the Air Force that address cyber security vulnerabilities and mitigate supply chain risk,” said Derick Naef, CEO of ReFirm Labs. “ReFirm Labs leverages decades of experience securing devices for sensitive national security applications, and we’re excited to continue offering our expertise as the Air Force works to define operations on the battlefield of the future.”

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In the fall of 2018, Secretary of the Air Force Dr. Heather Wilson and Air Force Assistant Secretary for Acquisitions and Technology Dr. William Roper jointly expressed the need to accelerate Air Force innovation to operate at the “speed of relevance” with businesses. In March 2019, AFLCMC’s Pitch Day pilot leveraged the backbone of the Air Force SBIR/STTR (Small Business Technology Transfer) to award initial Phase I contracts to companies after they made their pitch to Air Force evaluators and to highlight those companies to a wide range of investors, defense industry partners, and Federal stakeholders.

The SBIR program is a highly competitive program that encourages domestic small businesses to engage in Federal Research/Research and Development (R/R&D) that has the potential for commercialization. Through a competitive awards-based program, SBIR enables small businesses to explore their technological potential and provides the incentive to profit from its commercialization. By including qualified small businesses in the nation’s R&D arena, high-tech innovation is stimulated and the United States gains entrepreneurial spirit as it meets its specific research and development needs.

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ReFirm Labs’ Centrifuge Platform is the first solution that proactively manages the security of firmware, a specific class of software that provides the low-level control for the hardware of an IoT device. Centrifuge Platform can identify and report firmware abnormalities and vulnerabilities in less than 30 minutes, allowing companies and organizations to quickly analyze their firmware for hidden dangers and respond immediately to potential weak spots.

Highly scalable, automated and cloud-based, Centrifuge Platform® identifies and reports potential zero-day vulnerabilities, hidden crypto keys, backdoor passwords and already known vulnerabilities in IoT devices, all without needing access to source code. A simple and reliable way for monitoring security across an entire system of deployed IoT devices without the need for agents or access to the network itself, Centrifuge Platform® has been proven to increase productivity for security teams while reducing the number of breaches on internet-connected devices.

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