RFI-QA-Answers 1-17.xlsx
XLSX spreadsheet 16 KB Posted
- Attached to
- Open-Source Intelligence Tools Federal contract opportunity
- Solicitation number
- OSINT_RFI_12-16-2024
About this file
This is a Questions and Answers document for an FBI RFI seeking information about Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT) tools. The Q&A reveals that the FBI is looking for internet-accessible platforms that can search and monitor social media and other open-source data, with capabilities including real-time alerts (within 10 minutes), visual/interactive reporting formats, and collaboration features. The tool must be accessible on unclassified networks and preferably meet FedRAMP standards.
Key details include: current incumbents are CMA (contract 15F06721P0002431) and PCI Tec (contract 15F06722C0000258); foreign-owned companies can participate if their U.S. subsidiary can operate independently; the tool must provide access to major social media platforms including foreign sites; and the FBI requires unclassified network access with flexible alert delivery methods (platform notifications, text, email). The agency clarified that they are not seeking on-premises solutions, and while audit logging is required, it need not meet chain-of-custody standards. The Q&A also confirms that companies can submit responses for specific niche capabilities like Managed Attribution, provided they meet mandatory requirements.
View the file
Other files for this federal contract opportunity
| File | Type | Posted |
|---|---|---|
| RFI_OSINT_12-19.pdf | ||
| RFI-Open source intellegence tools.pdf |
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Text version
Sheet1
| Question | Answer |
| I have a question regarding the requirement for the vendor to be a US company or subsidiary. Can the company be a US subsidiary of a foreign parent company based in Luxemburg? Nearly all other technical requirements at first glance we can satisfy in our COTS product which is being used across US, FVEY and NATO MOD, IC and Federal Law Enforcement clients. | A subsidiary of a foreign-owned company is acceptable for this RFI. However, the submission should state what percentage of ownership the parent company retains in that subsidiary. However, if foreign owned it is preferrable that the company can act independently of the parent company. |
| Can a US Based entity of a FVEY owned company respond directly to the RFI or be a subcontractor? | Refer to Question #1. |
| I am inquiring about the Sources Sought Notice: Open-Source Intelligence Tools for the FBI-JEH Office published Dec 19, 2024 . Is this potentially a new requirement or do there exist any incumbents or related contracts currently providing similar services for the department? If so, could you provide their task order, contract number and vendor names? | The primary current contracts: |
CMA: contract ID: 15F06721P0002431 PCI Tec: contract ID: 15F06722C0000258 Additionally, note that this RFI is to learn about potential future capabilities available on the OSINT marketplace.
System produces useful returns in formats including but not limited to visual and interactive reports. Can the FBI expand on what visual and interactive formats are desired\required? The RFI gives examples of different visual / interactive reports: Useful sorting and displaying techniques, such as word clouds and other ways to make review more efficient.
There may be other useful formats that are welcome as part of this submission.
| Users can share, review, and collaborate on searches, alerts, analytic results, etc. Does this have to be done within the platform? How would the FBI ideally prefer to share information generated from the tools capabilities? | The intent of this requirement is for the FBI to be able to share and collaborate within the submitter's platform. If there are other useful ways that maintain FBI anonymity then submitter may suggest them. | |
| Push alerts must be received in real-time, but not later than 10 mins of content being posted on the web (i.e., alerts are sent with little to no lag time). What method is the FBI requesting the alerts to be pushed to the end user? | The FBI requests alerts to be available in as many formats as possible. Alerts inside of the platform, Text alerts, emails are three common ways that would be useful for these alerts. | |
| What sources does the FBI need to be able to search? | The FBI requests the submitter be able to cover as many social media platforms as possible. These should be the most popular and commonly-used social media sites, as available, and may include large and popular foreign websites as well. The abilty to search a large selection of social media platforms will be seen as a plus in this RFI. Also see requirement "Access to data sources" in the RFI. | |
| Should the FBI be able to configure within platform for ZeroFox coverage? | We are not referring to any specific company in this RFI. The focus is to find out capabilities available on the market at this time. | |
| What specific reporting capabilities are required that are not provided today? | We are not speaking on what is currently being offered in this RFI. The focus is to find out capabilities available on the market at this time. | |
| Does the government intend to use this/these open-source intelligence tool(s) under Title 18 authority only, Title 21 authority only, Title 50 authority only, or all authorities? | The tool may be used for investigative and intelligence purposes based on all authorities the FBI has been granted. | |
| Does the government intend to allow flexibility for call orders under the IDIQ be issued under appropriate contract types, such as firm fixed price, to maximize value to the government? | No decision has been made on the type of contract that may be created under the notional IDIQ. | |
| Would FBI be interested in meeting their objective of developing an OSINT storefront by leveraging an aAordable, proven (TRL 8-9) data solution that is installed on an FBI designated server environment (on-prem or cloud) and provides access to any PAI and CAI database of interest? | For this RFI, the FBI is requesting outside platforms accesssible over the internet. | |
| Would FBI be amenable to searching disparate PAI and CAI databases of interest from a no-code, iterative query UI under a single pane of glass that can normalize query returns into a single data form for visualization, analytics, or AI training? | Depending how this search is performed, returned, and displayed, the FBI would be willing to see a submission for this RFI of the type described here. | |
| Would FBI be interested in a data agnostic approach to connecting disparate PAI and CAI databases in real-time that requires no data migration or ETL processes? | Refer to row 14 response. | |
| Would FBI prefer to have a single vendor to broker and connect PAI and CAI database access to reduce cost and overhead, and have a single point of contact to connect and adapt new databases that meet emerging and future agency data requirements? | Refer to row 14 response. | |
| Is FBI interested in overlaying existing department databases with PAI and CAI databases of interest and having a user selectable toggle to enable and disable databases of interest based on investigative and analytic requirements? | Refer to row 14 response. | |
| Does the FBI have requirements to perform surface, deep, and dark web searches from unclassified systems and overlay those results with classified information to build a more complete intelligence picture that is not limited by the inability to cross domains when performing queries? | The FBI does not envision, in the process of simply gathering open source information, adding classified information to the data returns from this RFI. | |
| Would the FBI require their OSINT marketplace to record detailed and discoverable audit logs that comply with chain of custody requirements for evidence-based proceedings? | No, the FBI is not asking for audit logs that raise to the level of chain of custody. The logs would be for general tracking of FBI users if there was a question about a user's use of the tool. | |
| How many users does the FBI envision will require access to the OSINT storefront upon completion? | Refer to the User Account Management / Reporting portion of the RFI for response. | |
| Will the FBI restrict access to certain data sources based on individual user profiles? | The FBI is interested in knowing all access capabilities of the tool, including if it has the capability to confirgure or restrict access to sources. | |
| The Government specifies “Social Media.” Is it the Government’s intent to seek only solutions that derive analytics from authored content, or is it also seeking solution s that employ other commercially available information? | For a definition of Social Media, please referto the RFI section entitled "Capabilities of the RFI." If a submitter has other commercially available information in their platform, please describe. | |
| Is the government currently employing CAI-based solutions that provide identity intelligence to support investigations? If so, can the Government specify the solution and / or provider? | The FBI is looking for open source information. We ask submitters to provide what capabilities they can offer. | |
| On which network(s) is the intended storefront of tools anticipated to be? | The FBI requires the tools that can be accessed on the unclassified network. The management of the digital storefront under a notional IDIQ will be managed by the FBI. | |
| Will data/search results need to indicate if it contains USPI? | This is not a requirement for this RFI. | |
| What is the expected user-base size? | Refer to row 20 response. | |
| Will all users be accessing the platform/tools from a US-owned network? | Users will be accessing the tools from FBI-owned devices. | |
| For both categories of solutions, does the FBI desire a cloud-based solution, an on-site solution, or is there no preference? | The FBI does not seek an on-site solution. The intention is for the platform to be accessed over the internet. | |
| If the FBI desires cloud-based solutions (or has no preference), what cloud security standards are required or desired? An example would be FEDRAMP. | The FBI strongly prefers FEDRAMP standards for the platforms they use. The submitter may describe the safety standard that their site follows. | |
| Does the FBI consider user metadata (such as persisted search terms) to be Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI)? | User metadata such as search terms can be sensitive but unclassified, and they are usually reviewed by FBI's Office of General Counsel. | |
| Does the FBI have a CUI guide related to the use of OSINT systems? If yes, could this guide be provided? | There is no CUI guide for use of OSINT systems in the FBI at this time. | |
| Does the FBI have a preferred authentication system, such as single-sign-on via CAC? | The sign-on system is up to the submitter; the submitter is welcome to inform the FBI what is their normal sign-on system. | |
| Are there a set of unstructured or structured data sources the FBI is particularly interested in? If so, can these be shared? | The set of data the FBI is interested in can be in any format found on the internet. Refer also to row 8 response. | |
| Requirements: Are there any specific security standards that the tool must meet? | Refer to row # 29 response. | |
| Budget and Funding: Would the Government be willing to share their Independent Government Cost Estimate or anticipated budget? | The Government does not share this information. | |
| Please confirm the 15-page limit does not include the cover, table of contents, appendices, and any acronym lists. | ||
| The 15-page limit does not include cover, table of contents, and acronym lists, but otherwise does include appendices. | ||
| Can the contracting company submit only for certain sections of the RFI? For example, can we submit for the Managed Attribution (MA) section only? | ||
| a. | NTS operates "Managed Attribution Tool Portals" within the DOD where users log in to the portal to access their tools using a floating license service, saving on the number of licenses required by the customer. | For the Niche or Specialized services, the submitter can provide a submission that describes how a company can meet a single requirement of the 2nd portion of the Qualifications portion of the RFI. However, we ask that the submitter show how they can meet the Mandatory Requirements of the RFI, which is required of all submitters. |
| Could you provide the NAICS Code for this opportunity? | The FBI does not have a NAICS code established for this RFI. | |
| Our question on the RFI is simply further clarification on what you mean by:Provide evidence that this effort is commercial or non-commercial? | This simply means the company should be one that can do business with the US Government and has a CAGE and NAICS code. |
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