SEMICONDUCTOR SUPPLY CHAIN AND CYBERSECURITY ASSESSMENT | HQ003425NFOEASD02

Opportunity Information: Apply for HQ003425NFOEASD02

The "Semiconductor Supply Chain and Cybersecurity Assessment" grant opportunity is a FY2024 discretionary cooperative agreement designed to evaluate how the cybersecurity of the semiconductor supply chain can be strengthened and whether specific improvements are feasible and advisable. The core problem it targets is that semiconductors sit at the center of modern technology, yet the end-to-end supply chain that designs, builds, packages, and delivers chips has become an increasingly attractive target for nation-state actors and financially motivated cybercriminals. The opportunity emphasizes that these threats are not only likely to continue, but to grow in sophistication, creating urgent pressure for better ways to anticipate and manage risk across the full industry ecosystem.

A major theme of the opportunity is the sheer complexity of the semiconductor supply chain and why that complexity makes cybersecurity uniquely difficult. Semiconductor production relies on globally distributed inputs such as raw materials, chemicals, specialty components, advanced manufacturing tools, highly specialized software (including design and verification tools), and tightly choreographed logistics. Design and manufacturing are also spread across large, international workforces and networks of suppliers and partners. Because so many steps are interconnected, even small disruptions or compromises upstream can cascade into large downstream impacts, including production slowdowns, integrity issues, shortages, or compromised products. The opportunity frames this as a modeling and forecasting challenge: it is not enough to defend a single company network, because risk emerges from the relationships, dependencies, and shared technologies that link many organizations together.

The description also explains a gap in current industry practice that this funding aims to address. Many semiconductor organizations, like firms in other sectors, tend to concentrate cybersecurity resources on enterprise-wide controls (such as perimeter defenses, identity management, monitoring, and incident response) and on responding to known threats. What is often missing is the bandwidth and structured capability to systematically anticipate emerging threats, map them to real operational dependencies, and understand how new attack paths could affect specific parts of semiconductor design and manufacturing workflows. This opportunity is therefore oriented toward forward-looking assessment: identifying, forecasting, and translating evolving cyber threats into actionable understanding of where the supply chain is most exposed and where resilience investments would pay off.

The government rationale is explicitly tied to U.S. economic and national security priorities and to maintaining technological leadership. The opportunity highlights that the United States is making unusually large public investments in domestic semiconductor capacity through the CHIPS Act and related policy initiatives. At the same time, it notes that foreign governments are investing heavily in their own semiconductor industries and could be motivated to use cyber operations to weaken competitors or gain strategic advantage. The 2023 National Cybersecurity Strategy is cited to reinforce the idea that large cybersecurity investments need to be integrated with supply chain resilience, because the semiconductor sector underpins much of the broader digital ecosystem. In practical terms, the assessment supported by this award is positioned as a way to protect both private and public investment by reducing the likelihood that cyber threats derail production, compromise intellectual property, or introduce systemic risk into critical technologies.

Legally and procedurally, the opportunity is grounded in the Fiscal Year 2024 National Defense Authorization Act (FY24 NDAA), which directs the government to enter into agreements to assess the feasibility and advisability of improving semiconductor supply chain cybersecurity. An important constraint is that the anticipated cooperative agreement is to be negotiated exclusively with Cornell University, meaning this is not an open competitive solicitation for a wide range of lead applicants. However, the notice signals that there may be roles for other participants through sub-awards or as panel members, and it points readers to the specific section of the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NFO) for eligibility requirements related to those supporting roles.

Key administrative details include: the agency is Washington Headquarters Services; the funding instrument is a cooperative agreement (which typically implies substantial involvement by the federal sponsor during performance compared to a standard grant); the opportunity is categorized as discretionary; the CFDA/Assistance Listing number is 12.599; the opportunity number is HQ003425NFOEASD02; the expected number of awards is one; the award ceiling is $3,000,000; the posting/creation date is 2024-10-11; and the original closing date is 2024-10-18. Taken together, the opportunity is best understood as a targeted, single-award effort meant to produce a rigorous, forward-looking cybersecurity and resilience assessment tailored specifically to the semiconductor supply chain, with Cornell University positioned as the exclusive negotiating partner for the primary award.

• The Washington Headquarters Services in the other sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "SEMICONDUCTOR SUPPLY CHAIN AND CYBERSECURITY ASSESSMENT" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 12.599.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2024-10-11.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-10-18. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $3,000,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others.

Apply for HQ003425NFOEASD02

[Watch] Creating a grant proposal using the step-by-step wizard inside the applicant portal: