Cyber deterrent

’s North American subsidiary

has been awarded an R&D contract worth $8.6m (£6.02m) by the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (

) to develop cybersecurity test and evaluation technology for the

programme.

National Cyber Range is part of the Comprehensive National Cybersecurity Initiative, a pan-government effort to increase the US’s defences against electronic attack.

According to Cobham, there are tens of thousands of reported attacks and breaches of government and private computer systems each year.

DARPA will create and operate the National Cyber Range, a testbed consisting of computers and computer systems on which various cyber scenarios may be evaluated to provide a comprehensive, unbiased assessment of the security of information and automated control systems.

Cobham, headquartered in Wimborne, Dorset, will work with DARPA and lead a team of commercial, defence and academic organisations to provide solutions that enable protection of US cyber resources through in-depth analysis, test, and evaluation within the

.