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Northrop Grumman and UMBC Open Incubator Program to Develop Innovative Solutions to Meet the Growing Cybersecurity Threat

BALTIMORE, April 21, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) and the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC) Research Park Corporation officially opened the Cync Program today, an incubator dedicated to cultivating companies developing solutions to counter cybersecurity threats. The ceremony was held in the Advantage Incubator at the bwtech@UMBC Research and Technology Park in Baltimore, and it featured the first two companies accepted into the program, Five Directions and Rogue Networks.
/ Source: GlobeNewswire

BALTIMORE, April 21, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) and the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC) Research Park Corporation officially opened the Cync Program today, an incubator dedicated to cultivating companies developing solutions to counter cybersecurity threats. The ceremony was held in the Advantage Incubator at the bwtech@UMBC Research and Technology Park in Baltimore, and it featured the first two companies accepted into the program, Five Directions and Rogue Networks.

Highlighting the event were remarks by Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley, UMBC President Freeman Hrabowski, and Northrop Grumman Vice President for Cyber Initiatives Dr. Mike Papay.

"The Cync Program is an important seed within the cyber ecosystem as Northrop Grumman and the state of Maryland work to meet the growing cybersecurity challenges our nation faces," said Dr. Papay. "Our reliance on computer network systems is growing and the cybersecurity solutions that companies in this incubator program develop can be vital to our global security."

The Cync Program is a partnership between Northrop Grumman and bwtech@UMBC to create a new incubator tailored to the specific challenge of developing innovative technology to protect the nation from cyber attacks. The program builds on bwtech's successful business-incubation framework by offering a "scholarship program" for companies with the most promising cybersecurity ideas. Participants in the program draw on UMBC's research expertise and Northrop Grumman resources to develop tools that secure and protect the computer hardware, software and virtual networks vital to national defense.

"Northrop Grumman is excited to partner with these promising new companies," said Chris Valentino, Northrop Grumman cybersecurity director and technical fellow. "We are eager to begin work now that the initial team has been formed and look forward to the new ideas and fresh approach to technology that the program will produce."

Five Directions is an early-stage company working to develop technology that would enable high-assurance file sharing via public or private clouds. Using a data-centric approach, Five Directions secures access through credentialing, encryption and a robust audit trail. The company's founder, William Arbaugh, also started Komoku, a provider of advanced rootkit security detection solutions, which was acquired by Microsoft in 2008.

Rogue Networks is working to develop BreachBox, a product that enables traffic monitoring, alerting and the enforcement of flow policies on large enterprise networks. This early-stage company recently deployed BreachBox during a pilot study with the U.S. General Services Administration to enforce traffic policies and contain activity based on internal identity use.

Northrop Grumman is an industry leader in all aspects of computer network operations and cybersecurity, offering customers innovative solutions to help secure the nation's cyber future. These solutions stem from the company's strong commitment to advanced technology research, including programs such as Cync and the Cybersecurity Research Consortium (CRC). Founded in 2009, the CRC is an industry/academia partnership addressing the cybersecurity challenges of the future. For more information about cybersecurity at Northrop Grumman, go to .

Northrop Grumman Corporation is a leading global security company whose 75,000 employees provide innovative systems, products, and solutions in aerospace, electronics, information systems and technical services to government and commercial customers worldwide. Please visit for more information.

CONTACT: Megan Mitchell Northrop Grumman (571) 205-1093 megan.mitchell@ngc.com