Reclaiming Bus-based Systems During Compromise (Red-C)

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is seeking proposals for the Reclaiming Bus-based Systems During Compromise (Red-C) program, which aims to develop algorithms and firmware updates for self-healing bus-based systems that can detect, repair, and inoculate against cyber-attacks. The program focuses on modifying firmware to enable components to function as forensic sensors, with two technical areas: TA1 (Instrumentation) for generating forensic observation data and TA2 (Response) for developing distributed detection and repair algorithms. Proposals must target publicly available PCIe or CXL bus-based systems without hardware modifications, with key performance metrics including attack detection and recovery time under 20 seconds and component/bus overhead under 13%. The solicitation requires open-sourcing of algorithms and datasets through the bus-watch.org website. Proposals are due by April 10, 2025, at 5:00 PM ET, with multiple awards anticipated for a 24-month single-phase effort targeting Technology Readiness Level 6.

There is no specific set-aside designation for this solicitation, and the program is open to various types of performers, including potential nontraditional defense contractors. The total program budget and individual award values are not explicitly stated in the documents. The research will be conducted on unclassified systems, with no classified or Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) proposals accepted. The 24-month program will involve developing firmware and algorithms that can be implemented across different bus-based systems, with a focus on critical defense systems vulnerable to cascading implicit trust attacks. Performers will be required to demonstrate their solutions' effectiveness through specific metrics and contribute to an open-source community effort to improve system resilience against cyber threats.