The Mysterious $133 Million VA Infosec Contract

The Veterans Affairs Department has a world class Technology Acquisition Center in Eatontown, N.J., capable of running all kinds of IT procurements.

But, earlier this year, when VA decided it needed support for its chief information security officer, it decided to use a governmentwide vehicle run by the National Institutes of Health Information Technology Acquisition and Assessment Center -- the National Institutes of Health Chief Information Officer Solutions and Partners 2 contract.

On Sept. 28 -- two days before the end of the fiscal year -- VA awarded Booz Allen Hamilton a $133 million contract for support for its chief information security officer off of that NIH contract.

As far as I can determine, there has been no public announcement of this, except an obscure contract award notice buried deep in the NITAAC digital attic.

James Fisher, a Booz Allen spokesman, said the company could not announce any contracts for the past several months as it was in a quiet period prior to its initial public offering of stock this Wednesday.