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The Defense Counterintelligence Security Agency’s (DCSA) is seeking market research for a possible requirement for a publicly available electronic information (PAEI) software system solution for the purposes of screening and vetting international military students (IMS). The solution must possess the ability to scale in meeting query volume demanded in identifying users and their networks, capture high risk postings, and quantify the strength of connections between subjects based upon their interactions to meet critical expedited screening requirements. DCSA is looking to see if there is a software system that can fulfill this if it becomes a requirement or if there are systems that could fulfill part of this and then some possible modifications that can be made to fulfil the rest. What is out there that meets or comes close and can be modified to meet? Is there a solution out there that already does this?

This Request for Information (RFI) is issued for informational and planning purposes only. The information will be used in conducting market research to identify qualified, experienced, and interested potential sources and commercial practices in support of the Government’s requirements. This is NOT a Request for Quote (RFQ). It is not to be construed as a formal solicitation or an obligation on the part of the Government to acquire any products or services. The information requested by this RFI will be used within DCSA to facilitate decision making and will not be disclosed outside the agency. Any information provided to the Government is strictly voluntary and will be provided at no cost to the Government. It is also anticipated the type of contract will be a Firm Fixed-Price contract.

For purposes of this RFI, the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Code is 513210, Software Publishers, and the small business size standard is $47M.

Please respond to the DCSA MCB Quantico HQ Mailbox for Acquisitions at dcsa.quantico.hq.mbx.acquisition@mail.mil, no later than 28 March 2023 at 1:00pm EST.

BELOW IS AN EXAMPLE OF POSSIBLE SOFTWARE SYSTEM REQUIREMENT NEEDS:

1. Access to Publicly Available Electronic Information (PAEI) and Social Media Data

1.1. The Contractor shall provide, through software capabilities automated reports of activity and behavior through publicly available electronic information (PAEI), particularly social media, on students to help contextualize reported behaviors potentially indicative of national security and criminal activity concerns.

1.2. The Contractor shall provide a tool or technical solution that meets all Federal and DoD technological requirements for access and use on Government systems and complies with privacy and civil liberties requirements and protections.

1.3. The Contractor’s technological solution shall include customizable capabilities to adapt search parameters and results in a report that allows for search of photos, text, and actions (such as likes or retweets) taken by students online without requiring ESC analysts to visit the social media site themselves. These search capabilities shall be automated and shall have modifiable query capabilities to refine search criteria based on requirements, and shall provide information to include but not limited to, photos, original posts, shared posts, comments on threads or postings, and actions such as “likes” or other demonstrated action toward something that has been posted and is publicly available to view.

1.4. The Contractor’s tool shall meet the following criteria:

1.4.1. The following capabilities are crucial to vetting missions focused on International Military Students and establishing a continuous review or monitoring capability:

1) Bulk Query Capability

2) Managed Attribution

3) Cloud based, Customizable, Preconfigured Collection and Curation platform

4) Solution with high volume scalability

5) Language Translation

1.4.2. The capability to broadly scan the internet based on a student;

1.4.3. The capability to conduct extremely accurate identity resolution based on initially limited data sets to validate that the results truly belong to the student;

1.4.4. The capability to scan the internet not only for text but for photos and videos containing images related to student and behaviors of concern;

1.4.5. The capability to deliver both screen shots of relevant materials and the ability to view more broadly the information surrounding it to ensure appropriate context is captured;

1.4.6. The capability to not only conduct a single check on an individual for existing information but to maintain continuous checks with frequency no less than weekly with a three day turnaround on a student during the period of time the individual’s case remains open;

1.4.7. The existing capability to meet all DoD and Federal information technology standards to ensure use and capability on DCSA networks (NIST 800-171 Federal Information Technology and Protection Standards); and

1.4.8. The ability to access all data without creating a fake user account/false personae or creating false pretense affiliations with the students, which is strictly prohibited.

1.5. This information shall only be information that is available to the public.

1.6. The Contractor shall provide licenses or user accounts through initial setup and subsequent staffing changes, and process any necessary changes for existing accounts, within one business day.

1.7. The Contractor shall support the office in establishing initial capabilities in the development of search criteria.

1.8. The Contractor shall provide technical support as required to ensure sustained capabilities, with same-day support if services shut down for any reason.

2. Audits and Reporting

2.1. The Contractor shall provide monthly written updates on the number and status of licenses or accounts and the users affiliated with them.

2.2. The Contractor shall provide to the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) a monthly audit report for each end-user that includes the names of the students run through the tool or technical capability. These audit reports shall be received, generated, marked, stored, protected, and transmitted per CUI guidance in accordance with DoDI 5200.48.

3. Training

3.1. The Contractor shall provide initial training and an after-action review (AAR) to the COR upon completion.

3.2. The Contractor shall provide training to the ESC analytic workforce on setup and use of the automated tool or technical capability.

3.3. The Contractor shall provide AARs for any training provided on the tools.

3.4. The Contractor shall provide technical support as required (i.e., when the tool or application is not performing as expected).

4. Security Requirements

4.1. Tool shall be DoD IL4 or IL5 certified. All data is assumed to be Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) and must be protected in accordance with DoDI 5200.48 and the Privacy Act of 1974. This includes highly sensitive raw/derived data, multimedia, online personal details, and the collection and analytic configuration of data; therefore, additional security measures must be adhered to in order to protect data and users.

4.2. All data shall be routed through a VPN provider to obfuscate the source IP. Each analyst shall use dedicated data stores and disks to prevent data leakage between teams or other organizations by using firewall rules that block all network traffic between instances.

4.3. All data and online personal details (name, email, and passwords) shall be stored with encryption to protect user data.

4.4 All personnel supporting this contract must be US Persons supporting US interests. All products must be in accordance with the Buy American Act.

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