RFI_NSEP_CISA_DHS_01-15-21.pdf

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION

Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA)/Emergency Communications Division (ECD) is seeking information from industry to assist with the development and planning of a potential new requirement.

THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) NOTICE ONLY. THIS IS NOT A

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS (RFP). NO SOLICITATION IS AVAILABLE AT THIS TIME.

1. Overview/Purpose/ Description of Procurement

CISA, as directed by the Department of Homeland Security, builds the national capacity to defend against cyber-attacks and works with the federal government to provide cybersecurity tools, incident response services, and assessment capabilities to safeguard the networks that support the essential operations of any entity that has a role in communications during congestion events. As the Nation’s risk advisor, CISA coordinates security and resilience efforts using trusted partnerships across the private and public sectors and delivers technical assistance and assessments to essential communications stakeholders as well as to infrastructure owners and operators nationwide.

Within CISA, the Emergency Communications Division (ECD) Priority Telecom Services Program Management Office manages Next Generation Network Priority Services (NGN PS) and Priority Telecommunications Service (PTS) programs, which together provide national security and emergency preparedness (NS/EP) priority communications, under all circumstances, when network congestion or damage renders conventional communications ineffective.

PTS enhances ability for registered users to complete calls during communication congestion events using four PTS operational components:

1. Government Emergency Telecommunications Service (GETS): Nationwide landline telephone service that provides priority NS/EP telecommunications for the President, Congress, federal, state, local, territorial, tribal governments, and industry organizations.

2. Wireless Priority Service (WPS): Nationwide wireless NS/EP telephone service that interoperates with GETS to provide telecommunications via selected commercial wireless service providers.

3. Special Routing Arrangement Service (SRAS): A GETS classified service for special users.

4. Telecommunications Service Priority (TSP): Authorizes NS/EP organizations to receive priority restoration and installation of vital voice and data circuits and infrastructure for telecommunications services damaged because of adverse events.

Organizations designate critical circuits to receive priority restoration in an emergency and TSP provisioning authorizes prompt installation of new circuits.

The NGN PS program was developed as an evolutionary initiative to evolve priority voice communications features from circuit-switched telephone networks to Internet protocol-based packet infrastructures, along with the development and implementation of new capabilities including data, video, and information services (DV&IS).

The fundamental goal of NGN PS is to prevent a capability gap in effective mission critical wireless and wireline voice communications with additional secure mobile capabilities for PTS users under adverse events, recovery, and reconstitution. NGN PS utilizes service provider networks to provide priority telecommunication services to NS/EP users and includes the expansion of communication services like data, video, and information across multiple network architectures.

The fundamental goal of DV&IS is mission fulfillment as noted in the NGN PS Mission Needs Statement (MNS), “The NGN Priority Services Program goal is to maintain legacy priority voice telecommunications services (GETS, WPS, and SRAS) while the Program Office works to achieve priority voice services in the packet-switched networks. NGN service providers will implement priority service features to meet the original White House recommendations for voice services, including authentication, exemption from network management controls, and enhanced routing for NGN voice priority traffic. The White House recommendations specify providing broadband service in support of NS/EP missions including video and data.”

With the rapid proliferation of DV&IS capabilities in broad use throughout the communications ecosystem, there is a critical need for priority DV&IS to support NS/EP mission response and recovery by public and private sector Priority Services users.

2. Scope of Effort

ECD is requesting updated information related to available and evolving communication service capabilities that can provide secure priority voice, data, video, and information services across all types of communications networks, under all conditions, when network congestion, overload, or degradation occurs. In an effort to assess current and future capabilities in a rapidly changing communication technology environment, ECD is evaluating enhanced priority service capabilities with best practice cybersecurity and assurance, ubiquitous coverage, interoperability with other service providers, and resilience during times of natural, man-made disasters, or any congestion event, in order to ensure priority communications for federal, state, local, tribal, territorial governments, NS/EP users, and infrastructure owners.

The purpose of this RFI is to:

• Collect information from industry identifying services, solutions, and methodologies across mature modifiable Commercial off-the Shelf (COTS) networks supporting the outcomes and capabilities described herein.

3. Technical Characteristics

Mission Operations Capability Description Based on the NGN PS MNS, there are four needed mission operational capabilities to improve probability of completing communications:

1. Priority Voice: Capability to obtain priority voice communications. This capability enables an authorized NS/EP user to obtain/be provided priority access and transport of secure voice communications.

2. Priority Data: Capability to obtain priority data communications. This capability enables an authorized NS/EP user to obtain/be provided priority access and transport of secure data communications.

3. Priority Video: Capability to obtain priority video communications. This capability enables an authorized NS/EP user to obtain/be provided priority access and transport of secure video communications.

4. NS/EP Mission Operations: Capability to establish, authenticate, and authorize NS/EP Priority Services users. This capability provides the mechanism to establish an NS/EP organizational Point of Contact (POC), for the POC to initiate and approve the addition of individuals within the POC organization as NS/EP users, and to provide a mechanism for each priority service to authenticate and authorize service requests in the respective service provider’s service environment.

Mission Support Capability Description Based on the NGN PS MNS, there are six needed mission support capabilities:

1. Performance Management: Capability to monitor and manage priority service performance. Service providers, as part of the service provided, must collect, correlate, and report service performance to ECD.

2. Service Management: Capability to detect service defects and manage resolution.

Service providers, as part of the service provided to ECD, will monitor, test (automated and manual), and manage service defects. ECD, through NS/EP customer service management and trouble ticket management, must coordinate the tracking and resolution of user reported service issues.

3. Fraud Management: Capability to detect, monitor, and report fraudulent use of priority service(s) using Identity and Access Management (IAM) techniques. Service providers, as part of the service provided to ECD, must have the ability to monitor, detect, report, and neutralize fraudulent use of priority service(s) using policy and technical implementation.

4. User Assistance: Capability to provide assistance to NS/EP users. Service providers and ECD will provide end user support including, but not limited to, Priority Services assistance, troubleshooting user issues or service/infrastructure issues that affect users, trouble reporting, education, and POC support.

5. Usage Reporting: Capability to record and report priority service usage. The service providers, as part of the service provided to ECD, will collect, correlate, and report all priority service usage; including origination, transfer/transport, and termination.

6. User Management: Capability to manage authentication resources. The service providers, as part of the service provided to ECD, will securely maintain NS/EP user and POC authentication and authorization information and provide service access control for Priority Services.

Requirements Priority Treatment - Provide end-to-end priority treatment of NS/EP traffic to priority services users over other traffic.

Enhanced Priority Treatment - Provide a differentiated end-to-end priority treatment of NS/EP traffic for select priority services users based on profile; such that National leadership shall have priority treatment over other NS/EP users.

Security - Be resilient and maintain mission performance against attempts to deny, degrade, manipulate, exfiltrate, pivot, or otherwise negatively impact the service such that service provider networks protect 24x7x365 against corruption of, or unauthorized access to, traffic and control, support user authentication, and include encryption techniques with expanded capabilities for select users (e.g., expanded encryption and platform flexibility).

Anonymity - Provide select users priority communications without risk of being traced such that the select user is without risk of identity or location exposure.

Restorability - Provide restorability of priority services for users; such that the service’s restoration measures are operationally effective to support the mission accomplishment, aligned with PTS, including government program support for restorability of NS/EP communications (e.g., ECD Telecommunications Service Priority (TSP) Program).

International connectivity - Provide users access to and egress from international locations.

Interoperability - Provide users seamless interoperability such that priority communications interconnect and interoperate seamlessly with other selected government or private services, systems, and networks, as directed by ECD management process.

Mobility - Provide users mobility of communications such that service providers’ infrastructure shall support transportable, re-deployable, and mobile NS/EP priority communications.

Ubiquitous coverage - Provide readily accessible service to users such that priority service supports mission accomplishment for NS/EP national leadership and inter- and intra- agency emergency operations.

Hazard Resilience - Provide resilient service to users supporting NS/EP missions and public safety personnel during emergency response and recovery operations such that priority communications function when standard communications are stressed or congested, under a broad range of adverse circumstances, such as weather events, cyber-attacks, civil unrest, and human error.

Voice-band service - Provide voice-band service to users such that priority communications support NS/EP missions with Voice (wireless with Secure Voice and wireline).

Broadband service - Provide broadband service to users such that priority communications support NS/EP missions with voice, data, video imaging, web access, and multimedia.

Scalable bandwidth - Provide NS/EP mission support communications to users via variable bandwidth requirements such that integrated Voice and scalable Data, and a full-range of Video services are included.

Affordability - Provide priority services to users that are assessed to support NS/EP missions with relative affordability such that required capabilities and costs are assessed against existing, or potential development of, alternative solutions, and selection receives continuous Government oversight for lifecycle cost management.

Reliability - Provide priority services to users that are assessed to perform consistently as required in support of NS/EP missions such that the service is usable with high confidence in accordance with key performance parameters during adverse events.

Availability - Provide continuous service to all authorized users of priority services without requiring activation by a service provider in times of emergency such that all service-specific systems are able to provide user access with the required functionality.

Performance monitoring - Provide priority voice, data, and video service with a means to monitor service performance, measure, collect, and periodically report assessment.

System testing - Validation to meet requirements through an integrated test and evaluation (T&E) approach for evolving and implemented capabilities; such that the T&E strategy integrates the testing complexities, the expanse of service strategy design, the increased focus on security, and the structured process model of independent acceptance (validation) testing.

Trouble detection and resolution - Have effective trouble case management capabilities;

such that the Service Center shall be able to log user input of NGN PS trouble notifications, determine involved network (segment), and contact that network’s trouble reporting center for follow-up.

Fraud and abuse monitoring and reporting - Have the ability to randomly test and provide protection from fraud and abuse; such that identified fraudulent activity is reported to the Service Center by each service provider’s assessment of unusual service usage— including, too many NS/EP call attempts with unauthorized personal identification number within a certain time interval—with ability to interrupt, end service, and report to the Government.

User assistance - Provide user assistance, including, but not limited to training, service familiarization, issue/question response, dialing assistance, trouble notification, and resolution 24x7x365.

Billing invoices and usage reports - Have capabilities to provide the Government with regular and on demand usage reporting for all NGN PS call and session originations such that service providers have the capability to capture and maintain detailed, location specific usage, specified time intervals, and to provide incident specific usage reporting.

Quality of Service - Provide verifiable service quality to meet NS/EP missions such that priority communications traffic is identifiable with its own class of service for monitoring and assessment against established key performance parameters.

Service registration - Provide service registration capabilities with availability to receive input 24x7x365 such that organizations can input request to verify NS/EP role and establish a point of contact to submit registration of vetted individuals.

User training - Provide instructions to users for operation of the service.

Trouble reporting - Support trouble reporting with availability to receive input 24x7x365 such that user assistance information is available to a user or point of contact (POC) who experiences trouble with a priority service, and an organized follow-up process is in place for unresolved issues (e.g., categorized by when received, type, and contact information).

4. REQUESTED INFORMATION

Current contracts with AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile Secure Federal Operations provide the foundation for nationwide NS/EP requirements and are nearing expiration. This notice is seeking responses from potential offerors to aid the Government in making informed decisions about how to acquire future requirements. We are seeking for potential offerors participating as the prime or as a subcontractor.

The term end-to-end refers to a model in which NS/EP users may be communicating through a single carrier/provider, or they may be communicating through different modalities of service providers via a variety of end user equipment/devices.

Services based on reuse of non-owned equipment/facilities/networks, or where a third party has little control over the network assets are not viable solutions for the proposed requirement.

Please include in your response how your company would address each of the following questions:

a. What new technologies are evolving that could enhance priority communication services?

ECD is seeking sources of new and evolving technologies that can protect and complement priority communication services. New technologies must be able to provide differentiated services based on user profile, provide ubiquitous and resilient services, secure communication traffic from unauthorized access and content, user or location discovery, and facilitate transport of data, video, and information services that are interoperable with other communication service providers. Describe how IAM systems can be used to support and protect as many as 10 million users within priority communication services.

b. What best in breed standards exist or are evolving for ensuring cybersecurity and cyber awareness of sensitive telecommunication traffic as it moves across various networks?

ECD is seeking information about best in breed cybersecurity and cyber awareness to protect the sender and receiver identity, location, and content of sensitive priority communication traffic via single or multiple communication provider networks. The move to 5G technology expands the threat surface area for priority voice, data, and video traffic that requires forward looking cybersecurity and cyber awareness to mitigate these risks.

c. What kind of real-time operational communication traffic dashboard can be used for monitoring, remediating, and defending NS/EP traffic through any type of network?

ECD is seeking information about communication traffic patterns in real-time to assess network threats and vulnerabilities during periods of congestion or overload. The tools and services used to protect communication traffic across many modalities must continuously evolve to address advanced and persistent adversarial penetration through threat hunting and vulnerability scanning during times of high user traffic.

d. What other technologies (e.g., cloud or cable networks) can be used to protect and transport priority voice, data, video, and information services in collaboration with the telecommunication service providers?

ECD is seeking opportunities to maintain resilient communications in any environment where congestion, overload, or damage occurs. The ability to communicate with voice, data, video, or information services in situations experiencing extremely high usage and under stress is vital to NS/EP. Secure reliable communications must be scalable to support varying numbers of users in the range of 300,000 users to 10 million users.

e. How can 5G, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and Machine Learning (ML) work together to provide secure priority communication services for national security and public safety officials and first responders?

ECD seeks to use emerging technology to enhance, complement, and secure priority voice, data, video, and information services across all communication platforms. Describe how the use of AI/ML in the communications ecosystem can benefit program users during times when networks are damaged, degraded, or overloaded. Discuss the use of 5G features, like Software Defined Networks and Network Function Virtualization, to protect, monitor, and transport priority communication traffic.

f. What unique future service offerings and technical recommendations are vital to communication technology roadmaps?

ECD is seeking information on the impact of pairing 5G with Internet of Things networks across different communication modalities and how evolving technology can or will impact the way communication traffic is managed, secured, and developed. Describe how technology evaluation, collaboration, and insertion is best conducted. Use case scenarios are welcome.

RESPONSE GUIDELINES:

Interested parties are requested to respond to the questions in this RFI. Submissions cannot exceed 20 single spaced, 12-point type using normal character spacing, with at least one-inch margins on 8 1/2” X 11” page size. The response should not exceed a 5 MB e-mail limit for all items associated with the RFI response. Responses must specifically describe the contractor’s capability to meet the requirements outlined in this RFI. Oral communications are not permissible. Beta.SAM.gov will be the sole repository for all information related to this RFI.

Responses should include the (1) Business name and address; (2) Name of company representative and their business title; (3) Small Business category if applicable, i.e., 8(a), Service Disabled-Veteran Owned Small Businesses, Veteran-Owned Small Businesses, Women-owned Small Businesses, HUBZone Small Businesses, etc.); and (4) Applicable NAICS(s).

Companies who wish to respond to this RFI should send responses via email no later than February 25, 2021 at 4PM CST to thuyduong.t.le.civ@mail.mil.

INDUSTRY DISCUSSIONS:

DISA representatives may choose to meet with potential offerors and hold one-on-one discussions. Such discussions would only be intended to obtain further clarification of potential capability to meet the requirements, including any development and certification risks.

QUESTIONS:

Questions regarding this announcement shall be submitted in writing by e-mail to thuyduong.t.le.civ@mail.mil. Verbal questions will NOT be accepted. Answers to questions will be posted to SAM.gov. The Government does not guarantee that questions received after February 12, 2021 at 4PM CST will be answered. The Government will not reimburse companies for any costs associated with the submissions of their responses.

DISCLAIMER:

This RFI is not a RFP and is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government to issue a solicitation or ultimately award a contract. Responses will not be considered as proposals nor will any award be made as a result of this synopsis.

All information contained in the RFI is preliminary as well as subject to modification and is in no way binding on the Government. FAR clause 52.215-3, “Request for Information or Solicitation for Planning Purposes”, is incorporated by reference in this RFI. The Government does not intend to pay for information received in response to this RFI. Responders to this invitation are solely responsible for all expenses associated with responding to this RFI. This RFI will be the basis for collecting information on capabilities available. This RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes. Proprietary information and trade secrets, if any, must be clearly marked on all materials. All information received in this RFI that is marked “Proprietary” will be handled accordingly. Please be advised that all submissions become Government property and will not be returned nor will receipt be confirmed. In accordance with FAR 15.201(e), responses to this RFI are not offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract.