DOD likely to begin auditing contractors on cybersecurity in 2020

The Pentagon is still about 18 months away from measuring contractor cybersecurity as part of the acquisition process, but the Defense Department is moving forward this year with developing the metrics and establishing relationships with third-party auditors, according to a top acquisitions official.

The DOD effort is drawing from the National Institute of Standards and Technology's voluntary framework of cybersecurity standards, which is widely used across various industry sectors.

"We have set out an objective of coming up with new...