Press release

Octo Uses Blockchain in Security Program Proof of Concept for the Department of Health and Human Services

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Sponsored by Businesswire

Octo, a premier next-generation federal IT services provider, today
announced it has completed a blockchain proof of concept for the
Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Division of Acquisition.
This proof of concept proved the viability of blockchain as a solution
for securing log transactions in support of national security reporting
requirements and for creating “as-a-service” node solutions that federal
agencies can use to verify their log files. The test case for this
project involved the Department of Homeland Security’s Continuous
Diagnostics and Mitigation (CDM) program, which is part of the Federal
Government’s deployment of Information Security Continuous Monitoring
(ISCM). The CDM program requires agencies to submit log files and other
elements for security risk analysis.

“At Octo, we believe there is immense opportunity for emerging
technologies such as blockchain and artificial intelligence in the
federal space,” said Sujey Edward, Octo’s Chief Technology Officer. “As
our need for innovation increases, we must avoid disconnected approaches
and solutions. Instead, we should employ a holistic view to see the
connectedness of seemingly disparate technological innovations such as
AI and blockchain.”

“With blockchain, every participant in the blockchain network can verify
that their version of the truth matches everyone else’s,” adds Cesar
Tavares, Octo’s Senior Director for Innovation and Technology. “This
central capability is why blockchain is such a powerful innovation and
demonstrates how it can help improve HHS’ security posture.”

Log files are an essential component of the CDM process. However, log
files can be easily manipulated or corrupted, which weakens them as an
investigative resource, especially for the CDM program. Under this
contract, Octo proved how blockchain inherently protects the integrity
of log files by ensuring their immutability and provenance. Octo
cataloged all log files into encrypted “log transactions” in a
blockchain ledger that showed when log files were created, changed, or
deleted. This proof of concept proved that blockchain both supports the
objectives of the CDM program and improves HHS’ security posture. Given
the distributed nature of this blockchain proof of concept, it also acts
as a service that any agency can leverage by standing up its own network
node.

About Octo

A premier provider of technology solutions, Octo empowers federal
agencies to modernize faster. Octo’s combination of technical innovation
and pragmatic execution unleashes new capabilities, bolsters security,
and transforms service delivery. Octo specializes in scalable Agile
software development, user experience design, and cloud engineering
solutions to improve, modernize, and optimize government IT systems.
Known for challenging the status quo and continually exploring new ways
to deliver value, Octo’s superior outcomes are the result of a
collaborative, analytical approach and customer partnerships.
Headquartered in Reston, Virginia, Octo builds flexible solutions that
evolve as missions change, delivering results that last. For more
information, visit www.octoconsulting.com.