252.204-7012 Safeguarding Covered Defense

Information and Cyber Incident Reporting.

As prescribed in 204.7304 (c), use the following clause:

SAFEGUARDING COVERED DEFENSE INFORMATION AND CYBER INCIDENT REPORTING (JAN

2023)

(a) Definitions. As used in this clause—

“Adequate security” means protective measures that are commensurate with the consequences and

probability of loss, misuse, or unauthorized access to, or modification of information.

“Compromise” means disclosure of information to unauthorized persons, or a violation of the

security policy of a system, in which unauthorized intentional or unintentional disclosure,

modification, destruction, or loss of an object, or the copying of information to unauthorized media

may have occurred.

“Contractor attributional/proprietary information” means information that identifies the

contractor(s), whether directly or indirectly, by the grouping of information that can be traced back

to the contractor(s) (e.g., program description, facility locations), personally identifiable information,

as well as trade secrets, commercial or financial information, or other commercially sensitive

information that is not customarily shared outside of the company.

“Controlled technical information” means technical information with military or space application

that is subject to controls on the access, use, reproduction, modification, performance, display,

release, disclosure, or dissemination. Controlled technical information would meet the criteria, if

disseminated, for distribution statements B through F using the criteria set forth in DoD Instruction

5230.24, Distribution Statements on Technical Documents. The term does not include information

that is lawfully publicly available without restrictions.

“Covered contractor information system” means an unclassified information system that is owned, or

operated by or for, a contractor and that processes, stores, or transmits covered defense

information.

“Covered defense information” means unclassified controlled technical information or other

information, as described in the Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) Registry at

http://www.archives.gov/cui/registry/category-list.html, that requires safeguarding or dissemination

controls pursuant to and consistent with law, regulations, and Governmentwide policies, and is—

(1) Marked or otherwise identified in the contract, task order, or delivery order and provided to the

contractor by or on behalf of DoD in support of the performance of the contract; or

(2) Collected, developed, received, transmitted, used, or stored by or on behalf of the contractor in

support of the performance of the contract.

“Cyber incident” means actions taken through the use of computer networks that result in a

compromise or an actual or potentially adverse effect on an information system and/or the

information residing therein.
“Forensic analysis” means the practice of gathering, retaining, and analyzing computer-related data

for investigative purposes in a manner that maintains the integrity of the data.

“Information system” means a discrete set of information resources organized for the collection,

processing, maintenance, use, sharing, dissemination, or disposition of information.

“Malicious software” means computer software or firmware intended to perform an unauthorized

process that will have adverse impact on the confidentiality, integrity, or availability of an

information system. This definition includes a virus, worm, Trojan horse, or other code-based entity

that infects a host, as well as spyware and some forms of adware.

“Media” means physical devices or writing surfaces including, but is not limited to, magnetic tapes,

optical disks, magnetic disks, large-scale integration memory chips, and printouts onto which

covered defense information is recorded, stored, or printed within a covered contractor information

system.

‘‘Operationally critical support’’ means supplies or services designated by the Government as critical

for airlift, sealift, intermodal transportation services, or logistical support that is essential to the

mobilization, deployment, or sustainment of the Armed Forces in a contingency operation.

“Rapidly report” means within 72 hours of discovery of any cyber incident.

“Technical information” means technical data or computer software, as those terms are defined in

the clause at DFARS 252.227-7013 , Rights in Technical Data—Other Than Commercial Products and

Commercial Services, regardless of whether or not the clause is incorporated in this solicitation or

contract. Examples of technical information include research and engineering data, engineering

drawings, and associated lists, specifications, standards, process sheets, manuals, technical reports,

technical orders, catalog-item identifications, data sets, studies and analyses and related

information, and computer software executable code and source code.

(b) Adequate security. The Contractor shall provide adequate security on all covered contractor

information systems. To provide adequate security, the Contractor shall implement, at a minimum,

the following information security protections:

(1) For covered contractor information systems that are part of an Information Technology (IT)

service or system operated on behalf of the Government, the following security requirements apply:

(i) Cloud computing services shall be subject to the security requirements specified in the clause

252.239-7010 , Cloud Computing Services, of this contract.

(ii) Any other such IT service or system (i.e., other than cloud computing) shall be subject to the

security requirements specified elsewhere in this contract.

(2) For covered contractor information systems that are not part of an IT service or system operated

on behalf of the Government and therefore are not subject to the security requirement specified at

paragraph (b)(1) of this clause, the following security requirements apply:

(i) Except as provided in paragraph (b)(2)(ii) of this clause, the covered contractor information

system shall be subject to the security requirements in National Institute of Standards and

Technology (NIST) Special Publication (SP) 800-171, “Protecting Controlled Unclassified

Information in Nonfederal Information Systems and Organizations” (available via the internet at

http://dx.doi.org/10.6028/NIST.SP.800-171) in effect at the time the solicitation is issued or as

authorized by the Contracting Officer.
(ii)(A) The Contractor shall implement NIST SP 800-171, as soon as practical, but not later than

December 31, 2017. For all contracts awarded prior to October 1, 2017, the Contractor shall notify

the DoD Chief Information Officer (CIO), via email at osd.dibcsia@mail.mil, within 30 days of

contract award, of any security requirements specified by NIST SP 800-171 not implemented at the

time of contract award.

(B) The Contractor shall submit requests to vary from NIST SP 800-171 in writing to the Contracting

Officer, for consideration by the DoD CIO. The Contractor need not implement any security

requirement adjudicated by an authorized representative of the DoD CIO to be nonapplicable or to

have an alternative, but equally effective, security measure that may be implemented in its place.

(C) If the DoD CIO has previously adjudicated the contractor’s requests indicating that a

requirement is not applicable or that an alternative security measure is equally effective, a copy of

that approval shall be provided to the Contracting Officer when requesting its recognition under this

contract.

(D) If the Contractor intends to use an external cloud service provider to store, process, or transmit

any covered defense information in performance of this contract, the Contractor shall require and

ensure that the cloud service provider meets security requirements equivalent to those established

by the Government for the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP)

Moderate baseline (https://www.fedramp.gov/resources/documents/) and that the cloud service

provider complies with requirements in paragraphs (c) through (g) of this clause for cyber incident

reporting, malicious software, media preservation and protection, access to additional information

and equipment necessary for forensic analysis, and cyber incident damage assessment.

(3) Apply other information systems security measures when the Contractor reasonably determines

that information systems security measures, in addition to those identified in paragraphs (b)(1) and

(2) of this clause, may be required to provide adequate security in a dynamic environment or to

accommodate special circumstances (e.g., medical devices) and any individual, isolated, or

temporary deficiencies based on an assessed risk or vulnerability. These measures may be addressed

in a system security plan.

(c) Cyber incident reporting requirement.

(1) When the Contractor discovers a cyber incident that affects a covered contractor information

system or the covered defense information residing therein, or that affects the contractor’s ability to

perform the requirements of the contract that are designated as operationally critical support and

identified in the contract, the Contractor shall—

(i) Conduct a review for evidence of compromise of covered defense information, including, but not

limited to, identifying compromised computers, servers, specific data, and user accounts. This

review shall also include analyzing covered contractor information system(s) that were part of the

cyber incident, as well as other information systems on the Contractor’s network(s), that may have

been accessed as a result of the incident in order to identify compromised covered defense

information, or that affect the Contractor’s ability to provide operationally critical support; and

(ii) Rapidly report cyber incidents to DoD at https://dibnet.dod.mil.

(2) Cyber incident report. The cyber incident report shall be treated as information created by or for

DoD and shall include, at a minimum, the required elements at https://dibnet.dod.mil.

(3) Medium assurance certificate requirement.In order to report cyber incidents in accordance with

this clause, the Contractor or subcontractor shall have or acquire a DoD-approved medium
assurance certificate to report cyber incidents. For information on obtaining a DoD-approved

medium assurance certificate, see https://public.cyber.mil/eca/.

(d) Malicious software. When the Contractor or subcontractors discover and isolate malicious

software in connection with a reported cyber incident, submit the malicious software to DoD Cyber

Crime Center (DC3) in accordance with instructions provided by DC3 or the Contracting Officer. Do

not send the malicious software to the Contracting Officer.

(e) Media preservation and protection. When a Contractor discovers a cyber incident has occurred,

the Contractor shall preserve and protect images of all known affected information systems

identified in paragraph (c)(1)(i) of this clause and all relevant monitoring/packet capture data for at

least 90 days from the submission of the cyber incident report to allow DoD to request the media or

decline interest.

(f) Access to additional information or equipment necessary for forensic analysis.Upon request by

DoD, the Contractor shall provide DoD with access to additional information or equipment that is

necessary to conduct a forensic analysis.

(g) Cyber incident damage assessment activities. If DoD elects to conduct a damage assessment, the

Contracting Officer will request that the Contractor provide all of the damage assessment

information gathered in accordance with paragraph (e) of this clause.

(h) DoD safeguarding and use of contractor attributional/proprietary information. The Government

shall protect against the unauthorized use or release of information obtained from the contractor (or

derived from information obtained from the contractor) under this clause that includes contractor

attributional/proprietary information, including such information submitted in accordance with

paragraph (c). To the maximum extent practicable, the Contractor shall identify and mark

attributional/proprietary information. In making an authorized release of such information, the

Government will implement appropriate procedures to minimize the contractor

attributional/proprietary information that is included in such authorized release, seeking to include

only that information that is necessary for the authorized purpose(s) for which the information is

being released.

(i) Use and release of contractor attributional/proprietary information not created by or for DoD.

Information that is obtained from the contractor (or derived from information obtained from the

contractor) under this clause that is not created by or for DoD is authorized to be released outside of

DoD—

(1) To entities with missions that may be affected by such information;

(2) To entities that may be called upon to assist in the diagnosis, detection, or mitigation of cyber

incidents;

(3) To Government entities that conduct counterintelligence or law enforcement investigations;

(4) For national security purposes, including cyber situational awareness and defense purposes

(including with Defense Industrial Base (DIB) participants in the program at 32 CFR part 236); or

(5) To a support services contractor (“recipient”) that is directly supporting Government activities

under a contract that includes the clause at 252.204-7009 , Limitations on the Use or Disclosure of

Third-Party Contractor Reported Cyber Incident Information.

(j) Use and release of contractor attributional/proprietary information created by or for DoD.
Information that is obtained from the contractor (or derived from information obtained from the

contractor) under this clause that is created by or for DoD (including the information submitted

pursuant to paragraph (c) of this clause) is authorized to be used and released outside of DoD for

purposes and activities authorized by paragraph (i) of this clause, and for any other lawful

Government purpose or activity, subject to all applicable statutory, regulatory, and policy based

restrictions on the Government’s use and release of such information.

(k) The Contractor shall conduct activities under this clause in accordance with applicable laws and

regulations on the interception, monitoring, access, use, and disclosure of electronic

communications and data.

(l) Other safeguarding or reporting requirements. The safeguarding and cyber incident reporting

required by this clause in no way abrogates the Contractor’s responsibility for other safeguarding or

cyber incident reporting pertaining to its unclassified information systems as required by other

applicable clauses of this contract, or as a result of other applicable U.S. Government statutory or

regulatory requirements.

(m) Subcontracts. The Contractor shall—

(1) Include this clause, including this paragraph (m), in subcontracts, or similar contractual

instruments, for operationally critical support, or for which subcontract performance will involve

covered defense information, including subcontracts for commercial products or commercial

services, without alteration, except to identify the parties. The Contractor shall determine if the

information required for subcontractor performance retains its identity as covered defense

information and will require protection under this clause, and, if necessary, consult with the

Contracting Officer; and

(2) Require subcontractors to—

(i) Notify the prime Contractor (or next higher-tier subcontractor) when submitting a request to vary

from a NIST SP 800-171 security requirement to the Contracting Officer, in accordance with

paragraph (b)(2)(ii)(B) of this clause; and

(ii) Provide the incident report number, automatically assigned by DoD, to the prime Contractor (or

next higher-tier subcontractor) as soon as practicable, when reporting a cyber incident to DoD as

required in paragraph (c) of this clause.

(End of clause)

Parent topic: 252.204 RESERVED