"Federal agencies faced a new security challenge when their employees transitioned to remote work in March: quickly and efficiently vetting mobile apps for use on government smartphones. The Department of Homeland Security developed an automated security vetting process for mobile apps, cutting out hours of work and thousands of dollars to help streamline remote work." "Vetting just one mobile app according to the National Security Agency's NIAP standards previously consumed as many as 60 hours of work and could cost a federal agency anywhere from $40,000 to $80,000. The entire timeline could take anywhere from three to six months, DHS Mobile Security R&D Program Manager Vincent Sritapan told GovernmentCIO Media & Research." "Sritapan wanted his automated test to reduce the amount of time it takes to vet a mobile app. By automating much of the test, he said, he managed to get the longest vet time down to just two hours." “'Our hope is it can drive down costs and at the end of the day reduce costs and not just the time,' he said." "Sritapan’s automated test is also superior to the former vetting process because it ensures standardization, greater accuracy and 'more robust results...’" Read the full article here. Source: DHS Automated Vetting Process for Mobile Apps Could Cut Costs - By Kate Macri, July 23, 2020. GovernmentCIO.