Opportunity Information: Apply for DARPA BAA 15 56
Apply for DARPA BAA 15 56
- The DARPA Information Innovation Office in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Extreme DDoS Defense (XD3)" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 12.910 Research and Technology Development.
- This funding opportunity was created on Aug 26, 2015 and posted on Aug 14, 2015.
- Applicants must submit their applications by Oct 13, 2015 Proposal Due Date and BAA Closing Date October, 13, 2015, 1200 noon (ET). (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
- Eligible applicants include: Unrestricted (i.e., open to any type of entity above), subject to any clarification in text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility.
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Opportunity Summary:
The Extreme DDoS Defense (XD3) opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number DARPA BAA 15-56) is a DARPA Information Innovation Office research solicitation focused on creating resilient defenses against distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks on computer networks. The core idea behind XD3 is that modern DDoS defense cannot rely only on conventional perimeter protections or traffic filtering, especially as attackers increasingly use subtle, low-volume techniques that evade classic volumetric detection thresholds. DARPA is looking for innovative approaches that make targeted systems harder to find, harder to characterize, and harder to overwhelm, while also limiting the impact of whatever malicious traffic still gets through.
Technically, the program emphasizes three complementary defense directions. First is dispersal of cyber assets, which can include physical and/or logical distribution of services and infrastructure so that an attacker cannot easily concentrate firepower on a single chokepoint. This implies architectures that can move, replicate, or recompose services across multiple locations or network identities, reducing the payoff of saturating any one target. Second is disguise of asset characteristics and behaviors, meaning techniques that obscure or alter the observable fingerprints attackers use for targeting and tuning their attacks, such as protocol behavior, response patterns, service identifiers, or stable endpoints. Third is mitigation of attacks that penetrate the environment anyway, with special attention to low-volume attacks that may be designed to look like normal usage while still degrading service, exhausting state, or triggering cascading failures. Collectively, DARPA is signaling an interest in defenses that are adaptive, robust under active adversarial pressure, and effective against both high-rate floods and more surgical denial-of-service strategies.
From a funding and contracting standpoint, the announcement is categorized as discretionary and lists multiple potential funding instrument types, including cooperative agreements and procurement contracts (and “other” as applicable). It falls under the Science and Technology and other Research and Development activity category and is associated with CFDA 12.910 (Research and Technology Development). The solicitation states there is no cost sharing or matching requirement, which generally lowers the barrier for participation by entities that may not have discretionary funds to contribute.
Eligibility is described as unrestricted, meaning it is open to any type of entity, subject to any additional eligibility clarifications contained in the full announcement. In practice for DARPA BAAs, this broad eligibility typically allows participation from universities, non-profits, for-profits (including small businesses and large primes), Federally Funded Research and Development Centers when permitted, and potentially teams or consortia, as long as they meet the requirements spelled out in the BAA.
Key dates in the posting indicate it was posted on August 14, 2015, with a creation date of August 26, 2015. The proposal due date and BAA closing date are October 13, 2015, at 12:00 noon Eastern Time, which is the hard deadline for submission. The archive date is November 12, 2015, indicating when it would be moved to an archived status on the listing platform.
The opportunity also includes an amendment (Amendment 1) that makes two specific administrative clarifications. It extends the Proposers Day registration deadline to August 28, 2015, giving prospective offerors additional time to register for that program engagement event. It also clarifies a proposal preparation requirement for those submitting to Technical Area 5: they must include the Security Point of Contact (Security POC) on the cover sheet of the Volume 1 proposal. The amendment notes that changes are highlighted in yellow in the attached document, which is meant to help proposers quickly identify what has been updated relative to the original BAA text.
For access and official documentation, the listing points proposers to the full announcement via FedBizOpps (as referenced in the Additional Information link). For submission questions or difficulties accessing the announcement electronically, the contact provided is Dr. Stuart Wagner, DARPA/I2O Program Manager and I2O BAA Coordinator.
Extreme DDoS Defense (XD3) - Frequently Asked Questions
1. What is the Extreme DDoS Defense (XD3) opportunity?
Extreme DDoS Defense (XD3) is a DARPA Information Innovation Office (I2O) research solicitation focused on creating resilient defenses against distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks on computer networks. The goal is to move beyond traditional perimeter defenses and basic traffic filtering, especially in the face of newer, low-volume DDoS techniques that can evade classic volumetric detection thresholds.
2. What is the Funding Opportunity Number for XD3?
The Funding Opportunity Number is DARPA BAA 15-56.
3. What is DARPA looking for, at a high level?
DARPA is looking for innovative approaches that make systems:
- Harder to find (so attackers cannot easily identify stable targets).
- Harder to characterize (so attackers cannot easily tune attacks based on recognizable fingerprints).
- Harder to overwhelm (so concentrating attack traffic yields less payoff).
- Less impacted by whatever malicious traffic still penetrates defenses (including subtle, low-volume traffic designed to look legitimate).
4. Why is DARPA emphasizing approaches beyond conventional DDoS filtering?
The solicitation highlights that modern DDoS defense cannot rely only on conventional perimeter protections or traffic filtering because attackers increasingly use subtle, low-volume methods that may not trigger volumetric detection thresholds. These attacks may still degrade service, exhaust state, or cause cascading failures while appearing similar to normal usage patterns.
5. What are the main technical defense directions emphasized by XD3?
The program emphasizes three complementary directions:
- Dispersal of cyber assets (physical and/or logical distribution of services and infrastructure).
- Disguise of asset characteristics and behaviors (obscuring or altering observable fingerprints used for targeting).
- Mitigation of attacks that penetrate the environment anyway (including low-volume attacks that resemble legitimate traffic).
6. What does "dispersal of cyber assets" mean in this context?
Dispersal refers to physically and/or logically distributing services and infrastructure so an attacker cannot easily concentrate effort on a single chokepoint. The description implies architectures that can move, replicate, or recompose services across multiple locations or network identities to reduce the payoff of saturating any single target.
7. What does "disguise of asset characteristics and behaviors" mean?
This refers to techniques that obscure or alter the fingerprints attackers use for targeting and tuning their attacks. Examples of characteristics mentioned include protocol behavior, response patterns, service identifiers, and stable endpoints.
8. What types of attacks are of special interest to the program?
Along with high-rate flooding attacks, the program explicitly calls out low-volume attacks that are designed to look like normal usage but still degrade service, exhaust state, or trigger cascading failures.
9. What is the activity category for this opportunity?
The announcement is associated with the Science and Technology and other Research and Development activity category.
10. What CFDA number is associated with XD3?
The opportunity is associated with CFDA 12.910 (Research and Technology Development).
11. Is cost sharing or matching required?
No. The solicitation states there is no cost sharing or matching requirement.
12. Who is eligible to apply?
Eligibility is described as unrestricted, meaning it is open to any type of entity, subject to any additional eligibility clarifications contained in the full announcement.
13. What funding instruments may be used for awards?
The announcement lists multiple potential funding instrument types, including cooperative agreements, procurement contracts, and "other" as applicable.
14. Is this opportunity categorized as discretionary?
Yes. The announcement is categorized as discretionary.
15. When was the XD3 opportunity posted?
The listing indicates it was posted on August 14, 2015.
16. What is the creation date shown for the opportunity?
The creation date shown is August 26, 2015.
17. What is the proposal due date and BAA closing date?
The proposal due date and BAA closing date are October 13, 2015, at 12:00 noon Eastern Time. This is described as the hard deadline for submission.
18. When is the archive date for the listing?
The archive date is November 12, 2015, which indicates when the opportunity would be moved into an archived status on the listing platform.
19. Is there an amendment to the opportunity, and what does it change?
Yes. Amendment 1 provides two administrative clarifications:
- It extends the Proposers Day registration deadline to August 28, 2015.
- It clarifies that proposers submitting to Technical Area 5 must include the Security Point of Contact (Security POC) on the cover sheet of the Volume 1 proposal.
20. How can proposers identify what changed in Amendment 1?
The amendment notes that changes are highlighted in yellow in the attached document, making it easier to see updates relative to the original BAA text.
21. Where can the full, official announcement be accessed?
The listing points proposers to the full announcement via FedBizOpps (referenced through the Additional Information link).
22. Who is the contact for submission questions or trouble accessing the announcement electronically?
The contact provided is Dr. Stuart Wagner, DARPA/I2O Program Manager and I2O BAA Coordinator.
23. What office within DARPA is associated with this solicitation?
The solicitation is associated with DARPA's Information Innovation Office (I2O).
24. What does the solicitation suggest about the desired properties of proposed defenses?
The program description signals interest in defenses that are adaptive, robust under active adversarial pressure, and effective against both high-rate floods and more surgical denial-of-service strategies.
25. Are there any special proposal preparation requirements mentioned?
Yes. For submissions to Technical Area 5, the amendment clarifies that the Security Point of Contact (Security POC) must be included on the cover sheet of the Volume 1 proposal.
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