Instruction to Offerors_Cyclops_Sources Sought.docx

Sources Sought Product Service Code: DJ01 NAICS: 541990 All Other Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services

SOURCES SOUGHT - THIS REQUEST FOR INFORMATION {RFI) IS RELEASED PURSUANT TO FEDERAL ACQUISITION REGULATION {FAR) PART 10, MARKET RESEARCH.

DISCLAIMER - This RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes. This notice should not be construed as a commitment by the Government for any purpose other than market research. This announcement is for information and planning purposes only and does not commit the Government to any contractual agreement. The Government is not seeking proposals and will not accept unsolicited proposals. No reimbursement will be made for any costs associated with providing information in response to this announcement or any follow-up information requests.

Respondents will NOT be notified of the results of the analysis. All data received in response to this Sources Sought Synopsis that is marked or designated as corporate or proprietary information will be fully protected from release outside the Government. The Government shall not be liable for or suffer any consequential damages for any proprietary information not properly identified. Proprietary information will be safeguarded in accordance with all applicable Government regulations. All documentation shall become the property of the Government and will not be returned.

INTRODUCTION – The Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Information Technology (IT) Cybersecurity organization implemented critical Counter Insider Threat (CInT) capabilities to mitigate serious risks to the IRS. Recent trends in Counter Insider Threat analytics, cyber related fraud, and the misuse of government systems has presented a unique threat to taxpayer information safeguarded by IRS systems, applications, and databases.

Counter Insider Threat Operations (CInT Ops) addresses the serious risks posed by those who have been granted access to IT systems where resides sensitive taxpayer information and supporting IT financial systems. In recent years, cases of high-profile breaches of sensitive information have come to national attention with international implications. Their actions, whether intentional or unintentional, have caused serious damage through the unauthorized release of sensitive information. For the IRS, the compromise of sensitive taxpayer information would result in serious damage to the agency's image, reputation, and ability to perform its mission.

This notification is provided to survey contractors under Sam.gov Small Business Contractors that can provide technical cybersecurity CInT monitoring, analysis, and response activities for the IRS.

Contractors who believe they can meet the requirements outlined above and in the attached Draft Performance Work Statement (PWS), should respond by indicating their interest and providing sufficient information to demonstrate their capability. Responses should include a capability statement as well as a summary of the firm's experience providing this type of service. The information should be brief and concise, yet clearly demonstrate an ability to meet the stated requirement by providing clear and comprehensive information supporting the company's qualifications. Each response shall not exceed 5 pages, excluding cover page and must include the following information:

(3) Current contract Number for this sources sought

(4) Type of Company (i.e. small business, 8(a), woman owned, veteran owned, etc)

We encourage all businesses, to include small businesses, in all socioeconomic categories (including, 8(a) Business Development Program, Small Disadvantage Business, Historically Underutilized Business Zone, Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned, Women-Owned Small Business concerns), to identify their capabilities in meeting the requirement. Interested sources are invited, and encouraged, to review the attached draft PWS and respond to this Sources Sought announcement. Interested vendors shall provide responses to the questions provided in Attachment 2 - CYCLOPS RFI Questions with respect to interest, unique capabilities, and the proposed contract/acquisition strategy.

This information will be utilized for preliminary planning purposes within the Department of Treasury, Internal Revenue Service to facilitate the decision-making process and will not be disclosed outside the agency.

Responses to this Sources Sought announcement will be used to make appropriate acquisition decisions. After review of the responses, and determination has been made that a small business can meet the requirement, the Government will proceed with the acquisition utilizing FAR parts 8 or 16 procedures, a solicitation announcement will be published electronically via Sam.gov Small business Contracts.

Note: The government expects the final RFQ to be very similar to the draft PWS and is expected to be released within a reasonable time after the closing of this RFI. It is anticipated that this will be a Firm-Fixed Price procurement. It is highly recommended that contractors be proactive and prepare accordingly. No telephone calls will be accepted requesting a proposal package or solicitation. There is no proposal package or solicitation at this time. In order to protect the Government's integrity of any future procurement, if any, which may arise from this Sources Sought announcement, information regarding the technical point of contact will not be given and no appointments for presentations will be made.

RESPONSES - Responses to this notice shall be submitted electronically to rosetta.c.owens@irs.gov and sherry.e.carpenter@irs.gov no later than 3:00 pm, Monday June 03, 2024 EST. Responses shall not exceed 5 pages, excluding cover page, and shall not contain any brochures, advertising or any other type of extraneous, graphic literature or documents that have not been requested and are not relevant or essential in demonstrating the company's ability to provide the required services. Vendors may provide links to relevant websites, as appropriate.

Vendors shall reference "CYCLOPS Support" in the subject line of their response as well as in the subject line of any other e-mail correspondence referencing this notice.

** THE GOVERNMENT WILL NOT RESPOND TO PHONE CALLS**