Recently, the Air Force SBIR/STTR Program Office, issued a new type of solicitation which included Air Force special topics. Mentis’ award is a special topic facilitated as a partnership between the Air Force and MD5. MD5 is an innovation and entrepreneurship program run out of the Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Manufacturing and Industrial Base Policy (MIBP).
Under this contract, Mentis Technologies will be conducting research and development of software and hardware to secure Cyber Physical Systems. Sometimes called Internet of Things (IoT), CPS’ are found in businesses such as manufacturing, in homes with smart sensors and appliances, and even in DoD weapon systems. Mentis Technologies has developed a prototype of an innovative technology utilizing an open source intrusion detection and prevention application, machine learning, and proprietary methods to monitor layers of the OIP stack. Brian Abbe, CEO Mentis Technologies stated: “The goal is to make the product compatible with current CPS’ to provide security of legacy systems and to build this technology into future systems”.
A successful Phase I project could lead to a multi-year Phase II award that would allow Mentis to develop and demonstrate the CPS prototype system in Air Force applications.
