NNG15SD31B-088.pdf

NNG15SD31B – 36C10B20F0150

Table of Contents

SECTION A

A.1 SF 1449 SOLICITATION/CONTRACT/ORDER FOR COMMERCIAL ITEMS

SECTION B - CONTINUATION OF SF 1449 BLOCKS

B.1 CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION DATA

B.2 GOVERNING LAW

B.3 SOFTWARE LICENSE, MAINTENANCE AND TECHNICAL SUPPORT:

B.4 DELIVERY SCHEDULE

B.5 PRODUCT DESCRIPTION

SECTION C - CONTRACT CLAUSES

C.1 NASA SEWP V RFQ INTRODUCTORY LANGUAGE

C.2 52.252-2 CLAUSES INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE (FEB 1998)

C.3 FAR 52.204-21 BASIC SAFEGUARDING OF COVERED CONTRACTOR

INFORMATION SYSTEMS (JUN 2016)

C.4 VAAR 852.203-70 COMMERCIAL ADVERTISING (MAY 2018)

C.5 852.232-72 ELECTRONIC SUBMISSION OF PAYMENT REQUESTS (NOV 2018)

C.6 VAAR 852.270-1 REPRESENTATIVES OF CONTRACTING OFFICERS (JAN

2008)

SECTION D - CONTRACT DOCUMENTS, EXHIBITS, OR ATTACHMENTS

SECTION B - CONTINUATION OF SF 1449 BLOCKS

B.1 CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION DATA

1. Contract Administration: All contract administration matters will be handled by the following individuals:

a. CONTRACTOR: Bobbi Sorrell I3 Federal, LLC 12030 Henderson Road Clifton, VA 20124 Bobbi Sorrell, bobbi@i3federal.com

b. GOVERNMENT: Contracting Officer 003B2B Peter Lewandowski Department of Veterans Affairs Technology Acquisition Center 23 Christopher Way Eatontown, NJ 07724

2. CONTRACTOR REMITTANCE ADDRESS: All payments by the Government to the contractor will be made in accordance with:

[X] 52.232-33, Payment by Electronic Funds Transfer—System for Award Management, or

[] 52.232-36, Payment by Third Party

3. INVOICES: Invoices shall be submitted in arrears:

a. Quarterly []

b. Semi-Annually []

c. Other [x] Upon receipt of solution.

4. GOVERNMENT INVOICE ADDRESS: All Invoices from the contractor shall be submitted electronically in accordance with VAAR Clause 852.232-72 Electronic Submission of Payment

Requests.

5. ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF AMENDMENTS: The offeror acknowledges receipt of amendments to the Solicitation numbered and dated as follows:

AMENDMENT NO DATE

B.2 GOVERNING LAW

Federal law and regulations, including the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR), shall govern this Contract/Order. Commercial license agreements may be made a part of this Contract/Order but only if both parties expressly make them an addendum hereto, as permitted by FAR 12.212. If the commercial license agreement is not made an addendum, it shall not apply, govern, be a part of or have any effect whatsoever on the

Contract/Order; this includes, but is not limited to, any agreement embedded in the computer software (clickwrap), any agreement that is otherwise delivered with or provided to the Government with the commercial computer software or documentation

(shrinkwrap), or any other license agreement otherwise referred to in any document. If a commercial license agreement is made an addendum, only those provisions addressing license and data rights regarding the Government’s use, duplication and disclosure of commercial software and/or data (e.g., restricted computer software) are included and made a part of this Contract/Order, and only to the extent that those provisions are not duplicative or inconsistent with Federal law, Federal regulation, the incorporated FAR clauses and the provisions of this Contract/Order; those provisions in the commercial license agreement that do not address license or data rights regarding the Government’s use, duplication and disclosure of commercial software and/or data shall not be included or made a part of the Contract/Order. Federal law and regulation including, without limitation, the Contract Disputes Act (41 U.S.C. § 7101 et seq.), the

Anti-Deficiency Act (31 U.S.C. § 1341 et seq.), the Competition in Contracting Act (41

U.S.C. § 3301 et seq.), the Prompt Payment Act (31 U.S.C. § 3901 et seq.), Contracts for Data Processing or Maintenance (38 USC § 5725), and FAR clauses 52.212-4, 52.227-14, 52.227-19 shall supersede, control, and render ineffective any inconsistent, conflicting, or duplicative provision in any commercial license agreement. In the event of conflict between this clause and any provision in the Contract/Order or the commercial license agreement or elsewhere, the terms of this clause shall prevail. The

Contractor shall deliver to the Government all data first produced under this

Contract/Order with unlimited rights as defined by FAR 52.227-14. Claims of patent or copyright infringement brought against the Government as a party shall be defended by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) in accordance with 28 U.S.C. § 516; at the discretion of DOJ, the Contractor may be allowed reasonable participation in the defense of the litigation. Any additional changes to the Contract/Order must be made by modification (Standard Form 30) and shall only be made by a warranted Contracting

Officer. Nothing in this Contract/Order or any commercial license agreement shall be construed as a waiver of sovereign immunity.

B.3 SOFTWARE LICENSE, MAINTENANCE AND TECHNICAL SUPPORT:

(1). Definitions.

a) Licensee. The term “licensee” shall mean the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (“VA”) and is synonymous with “Government.”

b) Licensor. The term “licensor” shall mean the Contractor having the necessary license or ownership rights to deliver license, software maintenance and support of the computer software being acquired.

The term “Contractor” is the party identified in Block 17a on the SF1449. If the Contractor is a reseller and not the Licensor, the Contractor remains responsible for performance under this Contract/Order.

c) Software. The term “software” shall mean the licensed computer software product(s) cited in the Schedule of Supplies/Services.

d) Maintenance. The term “maintenance” is the process of enhancing and optimizing software, as well as remedying defects. It shall include all new fixes, patches, releases, updates, versions and upgrades, as further defined below.

e) Technical Support. The term “technical support” refers to the range of services providing assistance for the software via the telephone, email, a website or otherwise.

f) Release or Update. The term “release” or “update” are terms that refer to a revision of software that contains defect corrections, minor enhancements or improvements of the software’s functionality. This is usually designated by a change in the number to the right of the decimal point (e.g., from Version 5.3 to 5.4). An example of an update is the addition of new hardware.

g) Version or Upgrade. The term “version” or “upgrade” are terms that refer to a revision of software that contains new or improved functionality. This is usually designated by a change in the number to the left of the decimal point (e.g., from Version 5.4 to 6).

(2). Software License.

a) The software license provided to the Government is a term, nonexclusive license to use the software.

b) The Government may use the software in a networked environment.

c) Any dispute regarding the license grant or usage limitations shall be resolved in accordance with the Disputes Clause incorporated in FAR 52.212-4(d).

d) All limitations of software usage are expressly stated in the Schedule of Supplies/Services and the Performance Work Statement/Product Description, and incorporated license agreement.

(3). Software Maintenance and Technical Support.

a) If the Government desires to continue software maintenance and support beyond the period of performance identified in this Contract/Order, the Government will issue a separate contract or order for maintenance and support. Conversely, if a contract or order for continuing software maintenance and technical support is not received, the Contractor is neither authorized nor permitted to renew any of the previously furnished services.

b) The Contractor shall provide software support services, which includes periodic updates, enhancements and corrections to the software, and reasonable technical support, all of which are customarily provided by the Contractor to its commercial customers so as to cause the software to perform according to its specifications, documentation or demonstrated claims.

c) Any telephone support provided by Contractor shall be at no additional cost.

d) The Contractor shall provide all maintenance services in a timely manner in accordance with the Contractor’s customary practice or as defined in the Performance Work Statement or Product Description. However, prolonged delay (exceeding 2 business days) in resolving software problems will be noted in the Government’s various past performance records on the Contractor (e.g., www.ppirs.gov).

e) If the Government allows the maintenance and support to lapse and subsequently wishes to reinstate it, any reinstatement fee charged shall not exceed the amounts that would have been charged if the Government had not allowed the subscription to lapse.

(4). Disabling Software Code. The Government requires delivery of computer software that does not contain any code that will, upon the occurrence or the nonoccurrence of any event, disable the software. Such code includes but is not limited to a computer virus, restrictive key, node lock, time-out or other function, whether implemented by electronic, mechanical, or other means, which limits or hinders the use or access to any computer software based on residency on a specific hardware configuration, frequency of duration of use, or other limiting criteria. If any such disabling code is present, the Contractor agrees to indemnify the Government for all damages suffered as a result of a disabling caused by such code, and the contractor agrees to remove such code upon the Government’s request at no extra cost to the Government. Inability of the Contractor to remove the disabling software code will be considered an inexcusable delay and a material breach of contract, and the Government may exercise its right to terminate for cause. In addition, the Government is permitted to remove the code as it deems appropriate and charge the Contractor for consideration for the time and effort expended in removing the code.

(5). Manuals and Publications. Upon Government request, the Contractor shall furnish the most current version of the user manual and publications for all products/services provided under this Contract/Order at no cost.

http://www.ppirs.gov/

B.4 DELIVERY SCHEDULE

CLIN Description

QTY Unit of Measure

Total

Palantir Gotham SaaS Solution for

VHA COVID -19 (PT-PG-CLOUD).

Includes Operations and Maintenance and all required Professional Services.

Solution shall be active and ready for VHA use within 30 days after award.

PoP- Six months from date of award.

1 LOT

Contract Total

B.5 PRODUCT DESCRIPTION

1.0 REQUIREMENTS:

The VA, Office of Enterprise Integration, has an urgent need for the procurement of a brand name Palantir Gotham SaaS subscription for use by the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) to track and analyze COVID-19 outbreak areas and make timely decisions with insight into supply chain capacity, hospital inventory, social service utilization, and lab diagnostics.

The Palantir Gotham SaaS data integration and analytic platform is the only solution that shall enable VA to securely integrate near real-time updating data of any format, including patient-level health record information, hospital capacity data, supply chain data for critical medical supplies and medical equipment, diagnostic testing data, Center for Disease Control and Prevention COVID-19 tracking data, Veterans population data and VA health care enrollee data.

With the data integrated, the SaaS platform must enable users to exchange insights and decisions securely within VA and externally with state, local, Federal, and private stakeholders via a suite of collaborative tools.

The solution shall be delivered in accordance with NASA SEWP V Procedures and will be fully operational and ready for immediate VA use after an Authority to Operate is granted. The subscription shall include hosting, operational support, professional services, and maintenance. The period of performance for this effort shall be six months from the date of award.

The Palantir Gotham SaaS shall meet the salient characteristics of section 1.1 and the subscription shall include maintenance and all professional services needed. As part of the SaaS solution, the Contractor shall also provide a Governance Framework as part of implementation. The Governance Framework shall be utilized to establish a Steering Committee to discuss prioritization and check-ins with VA leadership. The Contractor shall provide the Governance Framework within its proposal.

Authority to Operate. Following guidance from the Federal Chief Information Officer (CIO), VA will utilize an existing Joint Authorization Board Authority to Operate (ATO) or an ATO issued by another agency to demonstrate and document Palantir’s compliance with the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) moderate level requirements and controls. Where applicable, the Contractor shall assist in the VA ATO process to achieve an agency ATO based upon the existing FedRAMP Moderate ATO for the Palantir Gotham SaaS. If new or unanticipated threats or hazards are discovered, the Contractor will comply with all applicable federal laws and regulations as well as the incident response plan identified in the FedRAMP Moderate ATO and to alert VHA, and relevant VA-specified teams, to include those in Appendix B, of any incidents or threats requiring disclosure. The Contractor shall not release any data without the consent of VA in writing and shall submit requests for release of data in writing to the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR)/Contracting Officer (CO).

Federal Information Security Management Act. The Contractor shall ensure the Palantir Gotham SaaS complies with the FedRAMP Moderate level security controls. The Contractor shall comply with FedRAMP Moderate requirements as mandated by federal laws and policies including making available any documentation and logical access needed to support this requirement.

The solution shall be fully operational and ready for VA use within 30 days after date of award. The subscription shall include maintenance support and all required professional services. The period of performance shall be six months.

1.1. Salient Characteristics

The Palantir Gotham SaaS data integration and analytic platform shall enable VA to securely integrate near real-time updating data of any type, including:

• Patient-level health record information

• Hospital capacity data

• Supply chain data for critical medical supplies and medical equipment

• Diagnostic testing data

• Center for Disease Control and Prevention COVID-19 tracking data

• Veterans population data

• VA health care enrollee data

Also, to optimize the deployment of Government resources to address the COVID-19 pandemic, and to better serve Veterans with significantly greater efficiency using data-driven decisions, the Palantir Gotham SaaS solution must meet all of the following Government requirements:

a. A data agnostic platform to capture, curate, integrate, store, search, share, transfer, perform deconfliction, analyze, and visualize large amounts of disparate structured and unstructured data.

b. A commercial off-the-shelf software solution deployable on day one that can be configured within days for immediate use by VA analysts.

c. Software functionality that is flexible, adaptable and provides high rates of speed to capability. This allows VA to build data visualizations, workflows and micro-services quickly, using an iterative concept to design to deployment cycle.

d. The ability to maintain data origin and reproducibility of all integrated data sources. Every resource (e.g., dataset, analysis, report) must retain its origin and metadata that can be traced back to the exact version of all upstream code and data dependencies.

e. A dynamic data model, object-based search/discoverability, and analysis workflows, allowing easy definition of objects, properties and links that propagate from a source table, and provide natural ways to move between tabular and object-oriented interfaces and data analysis.

f. Intuitive and highly configurable user interfaces that can be effectively utilized by data scientists, analysts, executives, customer service representatives, logistics specialists, and contract specialists, among others.

g. Collaboration capabilities enabling teams comprising of technical and less technical roles to work seamlessly and concurrently on the same data and merge analytical paths in one place.

h. The ability to scale flexibly with increasing users, data, and pipeline complexity.

i. The ability to audit access of all data and analytical resources.

j. Proven granular security controls with the ability for data owners to easily control all downstream uses of the originating data, and the ability to conform to VA security policies.

2.0 SECTION 508 NOTICE OF THE FEDERAL ACCESSIBILITY LAW AFFECTING

ALL ELECTRONIC AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY PROCUREMENTS

Not Applicable.

3.0 SHIPMENT OF SOFTWARE

All software shall be electronically delivered to the Primary point of contact below:

3.1 Special Shipping Instructions

Prior to shipping, the Contractor shall notify Site POCs, by phone followed by email, of all incoming deliveries including line-by-line details for review of requirements. The Contractor cannot make any changes to the delivery schedule at the request of Site

POC.

All shipments, either single or multiple container deliveries, shall bear the VA Purchase Order number on external shipping labels and associated manifests or packing lists. In the case of multiple container deliveries, a statement readable near the VA PO number will indicate total number of containers for the complete shipment (ex. “Package 1 of 2”), clearly readable on manifests and external shipping labels.

4.0 INFORMATION SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS:

All VA sensitive information shall be protected at all times in accordance with local security field office System Security Plans (SSP’s) and ATO’s for all systems/LAN’s accessed while performing the tasks detailed in this Product Description.

While the Contractor shall strive to make reasonable accommodations to work within the VA’s security and compliance standards, the Contractor shall be allowed to use the audited and approved Contractor federal cloud service system security plan (SSP) and associated procedures as the core requirements for the operations of the system.

Where there is conflict between the SSP and Addendum B below, the SSP shall control.

5.0 GOVERNMENT FURNISHED EQUIPMENT (GFE), PROPERTY (GFP),

MATERIALS (GFM), AND DATA (GFD)

As deemed necessary to be required by the PM, VA will provide the following in support of solution implementation. All onsite activities will be completed virtually as directed by the PM and COR through Cisco Webex, Skype or Microsoft Teams while offices are closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

• Sponsored access to Government data sources immediately upon order award

• Sponsored onsite access to VA facilities for Contractor personnel, including any required badging or clearances for implementation of the SaaS Solution, trainings and support.

• No Government equipment is seen as needed but, if Required by VA, Government furnished equipment, property or materials as required to carry out the requirements of the solution (e.g., laptops)

• Office space will be provided on an ad-hoc basis as needed when VA requires Palantir personnel to come on site for assistance.

6.0 POINT(S) OF CONTACT:

ADDENDUM B – VA INFORMATION AND INFORMATION SYSTEM

SECURITY/PRIVACY LANGUAGE

APPLICABLE PARAGRAPHS TAILORED FROM: THE VA INFORMATION AND

INFORMATION SYSTEM SECURITY/PRIVACY LANGUAGE, VA HANDBOOK

6500.6, APPENDIX C, MARCH 12, 2010

B.1 GENERAL

Contractors, Contractor personnel, Subcontractors, and Subcontractor personnel shall be subject to the same Federal laws, regulations, standards, and VA Directives and Handbooks as VA and VA personnel regarding information and information system security.

B.2 ACCESS TO VA INFORMATION AND VA INFORMATION SYSTEMS

a. A Contractor/Subcontractor shall request logical (technical) or physical access to VA information and VA information systems for their employees, Subcontractors, and affiliates only to the extent necessary to perform the services specified in the contract, agreement, or task order.

b. All Contractors, Subcontractors, and third-party servicers and associates working with VA information are subject to the same investigative requirements as those of VA appointees or employees who have access to the same types of information. The level and process of background security investigations for Contractors must be in accordance with VA Directive and Handbook 0710, Personnel Suitability and Security Program. The Office for Operations, Security, and Preparedness is responsible for these policies and procedures.

c. Contract personnel who require access to national security programs must have a valid security clearance. National Industrial Security Program (NISP) was established by Executive Order 12829 to ensure that cleared U.S. defense industry contract personnel safeguard the classified information in their possession while performing work on contracts, programs, bids, or research and development efforts. The Department of Veterans Affairs does not have a Memorandum of Agreement with Defense Security Service (DSS). Verification of a Security Clearance must be processed through the Special Security Officer located in the Planning and National Security Service within the Office of Operations, Security, and Preparedness.

d. Custom software development and outsourced operations must be located in the U.S. to the maximum extent practical. If such services are proposed to be performed abroad and are not disallowed by other VA policy or mandates (e.g. Business Associate Agreement, Section 3G), the Contractor/Subcontractor must state where all non-U.S. services are provided and detail a security plan, deemed to be acceptable by VA, specifically to address mitigation of the resulting problems of communication, control, data protection, and so forth. Location within the U.S. may be an evaluation factor.

e. The Contractor or Subcontractor must notify the CO immediately when an employee working on a VA system or with access to VA information is reassigned or leaves the Contractor or Subcontractor’s employ. The CO must also be notified immediately by the Contractor or Subcontractor prior to an unfriendly termination.

B.3 VA INFORMATION CUSTODIAL LANGUAGE

1. Information made available to the Contractor or Subcontractor by VA for the performance or administration of this contract or information developed by the Contractor/Subcontractor in performance or administration of the contract shall be used only for those purposes and shall not be used in any other way without the prior written agreement of VA. This clause expressly limits the Contractor/Subcontractor's rights to use data as described in Rights in Data - General, FAR 52.227-14(d) (1).

2. VA information should not be co-mingled, if possible, with any other data on the Contractors/Subcontractor’s information systems or media storage systems in order to ensure VA requirements related to data protection and media sanitization can be met. If co-mingling must be allowed to meet the requirements of the business need, the Contractor must ensure that VA information is returned to VA or destroyed in accordance with VA’s sanitization requirements. VA reserves the right to conduct on-site inspections of Contractor and Subcontractor IT resources to ensure data security controls, separation of data and job duties, and destruction/media sanitization procedures are in compliance with VA directive requirements.

3. Prior to termination or completion of this contract, Contractor/Subcontractor must not destroy information received from VA, or gathered/created by the Contractor in the course of performing this contract without prior written approval by VA. Any data destruction done on behalf of VA by a Contractor/Subcontractor must be done in accordance with National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) requirements as outlined in VA Directive 6300, Records and Information Management and its Handbook 6300.1 Records Management Procedures, applicable VA Records Control Schedules, and VA Handbook 6500.1, Electronic Media Sanitization. Self-certification by the Contractor that the data destruction requirements above have been met must be sent to the VA CO within 30 days of termination of the contract.

4. The Contractor/Subcontractor must receive, gather, store, back up, maintain, use, disclose and dispose of VA information only in compliance with the terms of the contract and applicable Federal and VA information confidentiality and security laws, regulations and policies. If Federal or VA information confidentiality and security laws, regulations and policies become applicable to VA information or information systems after execution of the contract, or if NIST issues or updates applicable FIPS or Special Publications (SP) after execution of this contract, the parties agree to negotiate in good faith to implement the information confidentiality and security laws, regulations and policies in this contract.

5. The Contractor/Subcontractor shall not make copies of VA information except as authorized and necessary to perform the terms of the agreement or to preserve electronic information stored on Contractor/Subcontractor electronic storage media for restoration in case any electronic equipment or data used by the Contractor/Subcontractor needs to be restored to an operating state. If copies are made for restoration purposes, after the restoration is complete, the copies must be appropriately destroyed.

6. If VA determines that the Contractor has violated any of the information confidentiality, privacy, and security provisions of the contract, it shall be sufficient grounds for VA to withhold payment to the Contractor or third party or terminate the contract for default or terminate for cause under Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) part 12.

7. If a VHA contract is terminated for cause, the associated Business

Associate Agreement (BAA) must also be terminated and appropriate actions taken in accordance with VHA Handbook 1600.05, Business Associate Agreements. Absent an agreement to use or disclose protected health information, there is no business associate relationship.

8. The Contractor/Subcontractor must store, transport, or transmit VA sensitive information in an encrypted form, using VA-approved encryption tools that are, at a minimum, FIPS 140-2 validated.

9. The Contractor/Subcontractor’s firewall and Web services security controls, if applicable, shall meet or exceed VA minimum requirements. VA Configuration Guidelines are available upon request.

10. Except for uses and disclosures of VA information authorized by this contract for performance of the contract, the Contractor/Subcontractor may use and disclose VA information only in two other situations: (i) in response to a qualifying order of a court of competent jurisdiction, or (ii) with VA prior written approval. The Contractor/Subcontractor must refer all requests for, demands for production of, or inquiries about, VA information and information systems to the VA CO for response.

11. Notwithstanding the provision above, the Contractor/Subcontractor shall not release VA records protected by Title 38 U.S.C. 5705, confidentiality of medical quality assurance records and/or Title 38 U.S.C.

7332, confidentiality of certain health records pertaining to drug addiction, sickle cell anemia, alcoholism or alcohol abuse, or infection with human immunodeficiency virus. If the Contractor/Subcontractor is in receipt of a court order or other requests for the above mentioned information, that Contractor/Subcontractor shall immediately refer such court orders or other requests to the VA CO for response.

12. For service that involves the storage, generating, transmitting, or exchanging of VA sensitive information but does not require Assessment and Authorization (A&A) or a Memorandum of Understanding- Interconnection Security Agreement (MOU-ISA) for system interconnection, the Contractor/Subcontractor must complete a Contractor Security Control Assessment (CSCA) on a yearly basis and provide it to the COR.

B.4 INFORMATION SYSTEM DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT

1. Information systems that are designed or developed for or on behalf of VA at non-VA facilities shall comply with all VA directives developed in accordance with FISMA, HIPAA, NIST, and related VA security and privacy control requirements for Federal information systems.

This includes standards for the protection of electronic PHI, outlined in 45 C.F.R. Part 164, Subpart C, information and system security categorization level designations in accordance with FIPS 199 and FIPS 200 with implementation of all baseline security controls commensurate with the FIPS 199 system security categorization (reference VA Handbook 6500, Risk Management Framework for VA Information Systems – Tier 3: VA Information Security Program, and the TIC Reference Architecture). During the development cycle a Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) must be completed, provided to the COR, and approved by the VA Privacy Service in accordance with Directive 6508, Implementation of Privacy Threshold Analysis and Privacy Impact Assessment.

2. The Contractor/Subcontractor shall certify to the COR that applications are fully functional and operate correctly as intended on systems using the VA Federal Desktop Core Configuration (FDCC), and the common security configuration guidelines provided by NIST or VA. This includes Internet Explorer 11 configured to operate on Windows 7 and future versions, as required.

3. The standard installation, operation, maintenance, updating, and patching of software shall not alter the configuration settings from the VA approved and FDCC configuration. Information technology staff must also use the Windows Installer Service for installation to the default “program files” directory and silently install and uninstall.

4. Applications designed for normal end users shall run in the standard user context without elevated system administration privileges.

5. The security controls must be designed, developed, approved by VA, and implemented in accordance with the provisions of VA security system development life cycle as outlined in NIST Special Publication 800- 37, Guide for Applying the Risk Management Framework to Federal

Information Systems, VA Handbook 6500, Risk Management Framework for VA Information Systems – Tier 3: VA Information Security Program and VA Handbook 6500.5, Incorporating Security and Privacy in System Development Lifecycle.

6. The Contractor/Subcontractor is required to design, develop, or operate a System of Records Notice (SOR) on individuals to accomplish an agency function subject to the Privacy Act of 1974, (as amended), Public Law 93-579, December 31, 1974 (5 U.S.C. 552a) and applicable agency regulations. Violation of the Privacy Act may involve the imposition of criminal and civil penalties.

7. The Contractor/Subcontractor agrees to:

a. Comply with the Privacy Act of 1974 (the Act) and the agency rules and regulations issued under the Act in the design, development, or operation of any system of records on individuals to accomplish an agency function when the contract specifically identifies:

i. The Systems of Records (SOR); and

ii. The design, development, or operation work that the

Contractor/Subcontractor is to perform;

b. Include the Privacy Act notification contained in this contract in every solicitation and resulting subcontract and in every subcontract awarded without a solicitation, when the work statement in the proposed subcontract requires the redesign, development, or operation of a SOR on individuals that is subject to the Privacy Act; and

c. Include this Privacy Act clause, including this subparagraph

(c), in all subcontracts awarded under this contract which requires the design, development, or operation of such a SOR.

8. In the event of violations of the Act, a civil action may be brought against the agency involved when the violation concerns the design, development, or operation of a SOR on individuals to accomplish an agency function, and criminal penalties may be imposed upon the officers or employees of the agency when the violation concerns the operation of a SOR on individuals to accomplish an agency function. For purposes of the Act, when the contract is for the operation of a SOR on individuals to accomplish an agency function, the Contractor/Subcontractor is considered to be an employee of the agency.

a. “Operation of a System of Records” means performance of any of the activities associated with maintaining the SOR, including the collection, use, maintenance, and dissemination of records.

b. “Record” means any item, collection, or grouping of information about an individual that is maintained by an agency, including, but not limited to, education, financial transactions, medical history, and criminal or employment history and contains the person’s name, or identifying number, symbol, or any other identifying particular assigned to the individual, such as a fingerprint or voiceprint, or a photograph.

c. “System of Records” means a group of any records under the control of any agency from which information is retrieved by the name of the individual or by some identifying number, symbol, or other identifying particular assigned to the individual.

9. The vendor shall ensure the security of all procured or developed systems and technologies, including their subcomponents (hereinafter referred to as “Systems”), throughout the life of this contract and any extension, warranty, or maintenance periods. This includes, but is not limited to workarounds, patches, hot fixes, upgrades, and any physical components (hereafter referred to as Security Fixes) which may be necessary to fix all security vulnerabilities published or known to the vendor anywhere in the Systems, including Operating Systems and firmware. The vendor shall ensure that Security Fixes shall not negatively impact the Systems.

10. The vendor shall notify VA within 24 hours of the discovery or disclosure of successful exploits of the vulnerability which can compromise the security of the Systems (including the confidentiality or integrity of its data and operations, or the availability of the system). Such issues shall be remediated as quickly as is practical, based upon the severity of the incident.

11. When the Security Fixes involve installing third party patches (such as Microsoft OS patches or Adobe Acrobat), the vendor will provide written notice to VA that the patch has been validated as not affecting the Systems within 10 working days. When the vendor is responsible for operations or maintenance of the Systems, they shall apply the Security Fixes based upon the requirements identified within the contract.

12. All other vulnerabilities shall be remediated as specified in this paragraph in a timely manner based on risk, but within 60 days of discovery or disclosure. Exceptions to this paragraph (e.g. for the convenience of VA) shall only be granted with approval of the CO and the VA Assistant Secretary for Office of Information and Technology.

B.5 INFORMATION SYSTEM HOSTING, OPERATION, MAINTENANCE, OR USE

a. For information systems that are hosted, operated, maintained, or used on behalf of VA at non-VA facilities, Contractors/Subcontractors are fully responsible and accountable for ensuring compliance with all HIPAA, Privacy

Act, NIST, FIPS, and VA security and privacy directives and handbooks. This includes conducting compliant risk assessments, routine vulnerability scanning, system patching and change management procedures, and the completion of an acceptable contingency plan for each system. The Contractor’s security control procedures must be equivalent, to those procedures used to secure VA systems. A Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) must also be provided to the COR and approved by VA Privacy Service prior to operational approval. All external Internet connections to VA network involving VA information must be in accordance with the TIC Reference Architecture and reviewed and approved by VA prior to implementation. For Cloud Services hosting, the Contractor shall also ensure compliance with the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP).

b. Adequate security controls for collecting, processing, transmitting, and storing of Personally Identifiable Information (PII), as determined by the VA Privacy Service, must be in place, tested, and approved by VA prior to hosting, operation, maintenance, or use of the information system, or systems by or on behalf of VA. These security controls are to be assessed and stated within the PIA and if these controls are determined not to be in place, or inadequate, a Plan of Action and Milestones (POA&M) must be submitted and approved prior to the collection of PII.

c. Outsourcing (Contractor facility, Contractor equipment or

Contractor staff) of systems or network operations, telecommunications services, or other managed services requires A&A of the Contractor’s systems in accordance with VA Handbook 6500.3, Assessment, Authorization and Continuous Monitoring of VA Information Systems and/or the VA OCS Certification Program Office. Government-owned (Government facility or Government equipment) Contractor-operated systems, third party or business partner networks require memorandums of understanding and interconnection security agreements (MOU-ISA) which detail what data types are shared, who has access, and the appropriate level of security controls for all systems connected to VA networks.

d. The Contractor/Subcontractor’s system must adhere to all FISMA, FIPS, and NIST standards related to the annual FISMA security controls assessment and review and update the PIA. Any deficiencies noted during this assessment must be provided to the VA CO and the ISO for entry into the VA POA&M management process. The Contractor/Subcontractor must use the VA POA&M process to document planned remedial actions to address any deficiencies in information security policies, procedures, and practices, and the completion of those activities. Security deficiencies must be corrected within the timeframes approved by the Government. Contractor/Subcontractor procedures are subject to periodic, unannounced assessments by VA officials, including the VA Office of Inspector General. The physical security aspects associated with Contractor/Subcontractor activities must also be subject to such assessments. If major changes to the system occur that may affect the privacy or security of the data or the system, the A&A of the system may need to be reviewed, retested and re-authorized per VA Handbook 6500.3. This may require reviewing and updating all of the documentation (PIA, System Security Plan, and Contingency Plan). The Certification Program Office can provide guidance on whether a new A&A would be necessary.

e. The Contractor/Subcontractor must conduct an annual self-assessment on all systems and outsourced services as required. Both hard copy and electronic copies of the assessment must be provided to the COR.

The Government reserves the right to conduct such an assessment using Government personnel or another Contractor/Subcontractor. The Contractor/Subcontractor must take appropriate and timely action (this can be specified in the contract) to correct or mitigate any weaknesses discovered during such testing, generally at no additional cost.

f. VA prohibits the installation and use of personally-owned or

Contractor/Subcontractor owned equipment or software on the VA network. If non-VA owned equipment must be used to fulfill the requirements of a contract, it must be stated in the service agreement, SOW or contract. All of the security controls required for Government furnished equipment (GFE) must be utilized in approved other equipment (OE) and must be funded by the owner of the equipment. All remote systems must be equipped with, and use, a VA-approved antivirus (AV) software and a personal (host-based or enclave based) firewall that is configured with a VA approved configuration. Software must be kept current, including all critical updates and patches. Owners of approved OE are responsible for providing and maintaining the anti-viral software and the firewall on the non-VA owned OE.

g. All electronic storage media used on non-VA leased or non-VA owned IT equipment that is used to store, process, or access VA information must be handled in adherence with VA Handbook 6500.1, Electronic Media Sanitization upon: (i) completion or termination of the contract or (ii) disposal or return of the IT equipment by the Contractor/Subcontractor or any person acting on behalf of the Contractor/Subcontractor, whichever is earlier. Media (hard drives, optical disks, CDs, back-up tapes, etc.) used by the Contractors/Subcontractors that contain VA information must be returned to VA for sanitization or destruction or the Contractor/Subcontractor must self-certify that the media has been disposed of per 6500.1 requirements. This must be completed within 30 days of termination of the contract.

h. Bio-Medical devices and other equipment or systems containing media (hard drives, optical disks, etc.) with VA sensitive information must not be returned to the vendor at the end of lease, for trade-in, or other purposes.

The options are:

1) Vendor must accept the system without the drive;

2) VA’s initial medical device purchase includes a spare drive which must be installed in place of the original drive at time of turn-in; or

3) VA must reimburse the company for media at a reasonable open market replacement cost at time of purchase.

4) Due to the highly specialized and sometimes proprietary hardware and software associated with medical equipment/systems, if it is not possible for VA to retain the hard drive, then;

a) The equipment vendor must have an existing BAA if the device being traded in has sensitive information stored on it and hard drive(s) from the system are being returned physically intact; and

b) Any fixed hard drive on the device must be non-destructively sanitized to the greatest extent possible without negatively impacting system operation. Selective clearing down to patient data folder level is recommended using VA approved and validated overwriting technologies/methods/tools. Applicable media sanitization specifications need to be preapproved and described in the purchase order or contract.

c) A statement needs to be signed by the Director (System Owner) that states that the drive could not be removed and that (a) and (b) controls above are in place and completed. The ISO needs to maintain the documentation.

B.6 SECURITY INCIDENT INVESTIGATION

a. The term “security incident” means an event that has, or could have, resulted in unauthorized access to, loss or damage to VA assets, or sensitive information, or an action that breaches VA security procedures. The Contractor/Subcontractor shall immediately notify the COR and simultaneously, the designated ISO and Privacy Officer for the contract of any known or suspected security/privacy incidents, or any unauthorized disclosure of sensitive information, including that contained in system(s) to which the Contractor/Subcontractor has access.

b. To the extent known by the Contractor/Subcontractor, the Contractor/Subcontractor’s notice to VA shall identify the information involved, the circumstances surrounding the incident (including to whom, how, when, and where the VA information or assets were placed at risk or compromised), and any other information that the Contractor/Subcontractor considers relevant.

c. With respect to unsecured protected health information, the business associate is deemed to have discovered a data breach when the business associate knew or should have known of a breach of such information. Upon discovery, the business associate must notify the covered entity of the breach. Notifications need to be made in accordance with the executed business associate agreement.

d. In instances of theft or break-in or other criminal activity, the Contractor/Subcontractor must concurrently report the incident to the appropriate law enforcement entity (or entities) of jurisdiction, including the VA OIG and Security and Law Enforcement. The Contractor, its employees, and its Subcontractors and their employees shall cooperate with VA and any law enforcement authority responsible for the investigation and prosecution of any possible criminal law violation(s) associated with any incident. The Contractor/Subcontractor shall cooperate with VA in any civil litigation to recover VA information, obtain monetary or other compensation from a third party for damages arising from any incident, or obtain injunctive relief against any third party arising from, or related to, the incident.

B.7 LIQUIDATED DAMAGES FOR DATA BREACH

a. Consistent with the requirements of 38 U.S.C. §5725, a contract may require access to sensitive personal information. If so, the Contractor is liable to VA for liquidated damages in the event of a data breach or privacy incident involving any SPI the Contractor/Subcontractor processes or maintains under this contract. However, it is the policy of VA to forgo collection of liquidated damages in the event the Contractor provides payment of actual damages in an amount determined to be adequate by the agency.

b. The Contractor/Subcontractor shall provide notice to VA of a “security incident” as set forth in the Security Incident Investigation section above. Upon such notification, VA must secure from a non-Department entity or the VA Office of Inspector General an independent risk analysis of the data breach to determine the level of risk associated with the data breach for the potential misuse of any sensitive personal information involved in the data breach. The term 'data breach' means the loss, theft, or other unauthorized access, or any access other than that incidental to the scope of employment, to data containing sensitive personal information, in electronic or printed form, that results in the potential compromise of the confidentiality or integrity of the data. Contractor shall fully cooperate with the entity performing the risk analysis. Failure to cooperate may be deemed a material breach and grounds for contract termination.

c. Each risk analysis shall address all relevant information concerning the data breach, including the following:

1) Nature of the event (loss, theft, unauthorized access);

2) Description of the event, including:

a) date of occurrence;

b) data elements involved, including any PII, such as full name, social security number, date of birth, home address, account number, disability code;

3) Number of individuals affected or potentially affected;

4) Names of individuals or groups affected or potentially affected;

5) Ease of logical data access to the lost, stolen or improperly accessed data in light of the degree of protection for the data, e.g., unencrypted, plain text;

6) Amount of time the data has been out of VA control;

7) The likelihood that the sensitive personal information will or has been compromised (made accessible to and usable by unauthorized persons);

8) Known misuses of data containing sensitive personal information, if any;

9) Assessment of the potential harm to the affected individuals;

10) Data breach analysis as outlined in 6500.2 Handbook, Management of

Breaches Involving Sensitive Personal Information, as appropriate; and

11) Whether credit protection services may assist record subjects in avoiding or mitigating the results of identity theft based on the sensitive personal information that may have been compromised.

d. Based on the determinations of the independent risk analysis, the Contractor shall be responsible for paying to VA liquidated damages in the amount of $37.50 per affected individual to cover the cost of providing credit protection services to affected individuals consisting of the following:

1) Notification;

2) One year of credit monitoring services consisting of automatic daily monitoring of at least 3 relevant credit bureau reports;

3) Data breach analysis;

4) Fraud resolution services, including writing dispute letters, initiating fraud alerts and credit freezes, to assist affected individuals to bring matters to resolution;

5) One year of identity theft insurance with $20,000.00 coverage at $0 deductible;

and

6) Necessary legal expenses the subjects may incur to repair falsified or damaged credit records, histories, or financial affairs.

B.8 SECURITY CONTROLS COMPLIANCE TESTING

On a periodic basis, VA, including the Office of Inspector General, reserves the right to evaluate any or all of the security controls and privacy practices implemented by the Contractor under the clauses contained within the contract. With 10 working-days’ notice, at the request of the Government, the Contractor must fully cooperate and assist in a Government-sponsored security controls assessment at each location wherein VA information is processed or stored, or information systems are developed, operated, maintained, or used on behalf of VA, including those initiated by the Office of Inspector General. The Government may conduct a security control assessment on shorter notice (to include unannounced assessments) as determined by VA in the event of a security incident or at any other time.

B.9 TRAINING

a. All Contractor employees and Subcontractor employees requiring access to VA information and VA information systems shall complete the following before being granted access to VA information and its systems:

1) Sign and acknowledge (either manually or electronically) understanding of and responsibilities for compliance with the Information Security Rules of Behavior, updated version located at https://www.voa.va.gov/DocumentView.aspx?DocumentID=4848, relating to access to VA information and information systems;

2) Successfully complete the VA Privacy and Information…