Notice of Intent

The Department of Agriculture has published a Notice of Intent regarding Independent Assessor Support Services for ICE Datacenters. This Special Notice, posted on November 18, 2025, with a due date of December 18, 2025, seeks qualified contractors to provide objective cybersecurity evaluation and assessment services. The work falls under IT and Telecom Business Application/Application Development Support Services (PSC DA01) and is not subject to any small business set-aside. Competition for this contract opportunity is limited to holders of the USDA STRATUS Basic Ordering Agreement (BOA). The contract is being managed by the Rural Development Technology Office (RD TO) Cybersecurity Division (CSD) within the Department of Agriculture.

The primary objective of this acquisition is to secure independent assessor support essential for the Assessment and Authorization (A&A) process of ICE-owned datacenters, ensuring compliance with federal cybersecurity standards and mitigating vulnerabilities. Contractors will be responsible for comprehensive security evaluation activities including on-site security assessments, vulnerability scanning, penetration testing, and development of assessment reports and risk documentation. Work will be performed at multiple locations, including USDA Rural Development facilities in Washington, D.C. and St. Louis, Missouri, as well as customer sites outside the continental United States; however, contractor employees and telework locations outside the continental United States are not authorized. Only current USDA STRATUS BOA holders are eligible to submit proposals for this opportunity, limiting participation to pre-qualified contractors already under that existing agreement vehicle. Interested firms must review the specific requirements and submit their responses by the December 18, 2025 deadline to be considered for this cybersecurity support contract.