Request for Information - Homomorphic Encryption

Active

Contract Opportunity

DESCRIPTION:

The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) is seeking information from business organizations under the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code 518210, that are manufacturers of commercial privacy software platforms that support homomorphic encryption to be used to integrate data across medical records and multimodal data while maintaining privacy and allowing for pooling of information without sharing data. This information will be used by NIDA to determine available platforms that may meet future government requirements.

This is a Request for Information. This is NOT a solicitation for proposals, proposal abstracts, or quotations. The purpose of this notice is to obtain information regarding the availability and capability of qualified business sources. Your responses to the information requested will provide valuable market research for future potential acquisitions. The established NAICS code is 518210, Data Processing, Hosting and Related Services.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION AND OBJECTIVE:

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the nation’s leading medical research agency and the primary Federal agency whose mission is to seek fundamental knowledge about the nature and behavior of living systems and the application of that knowledge to enhance health, lengthen life, and reduce illness and disability, conducting, supporting and making medical discoveries that improve people’s health and save lives.

As part of this mission, information is being requested regarding commercial privacy software platforms and hardware that support homomorphic encryption to be used to integrate multimodal data, while maintaining privacy and preserving confidentiality for research purposes. This type of software may remove the necessity to use summary data which can result in biased results as well as limitations on using individual data due to the use of identifiable information. People can be identified through various means by combining data from different databases which makes it problematic to share and integrate data.

There are various other restrictions that have resulted in an endeavor to research privacy software platforms that may assist in providing a resolution. Please provide detailed information on your capability to provide software and hardware with homomorphic encryption. In addition, please answer the questions below.

QUESTIONS:

1. How does homomorphic encryption work?


2. What are the benefits of using homomorphic encryption?


3. What are the current limitations of homomorphic encryption?


4. Can homomorphic encryption prevent identification of individuals when data from different databases are combined?


5. Do homomorphic encryption algorithms meet accepted ethical standards, privacy laws and regulations?


6. What are the standards for implementing homomorphic encryption?


7. Could homomorphic encryption algorithms harm marginalized groups?


8. Could homomorphic encryption algorithms introduce bias in the data?


9. What is the ease of implementation of homomorphic encryption across databases?


10. Is there a tradeoff between privacy and accuracy when using homomorphic encryption?


11. What advances in chip design or hardware are being made to speed processing of homomorphic encryption?


12. Are costs per unit of data stored/processed (not sure if I am wording that correctly) using homomorphic encryption likely to decrease in the future? If so why? If not, is there a path to reach that goal?


13. Are there business models for sustainably supporting databases that use homomophic encryption?

INSTRUCTIONS:

Any responses must also include the Company Name, Unique Entity ID from SAM.gov, Physical Address, and Point of Contact Information. The response must include the respondents’ technical and administrative points of contact, including names, titles, addresses, telephone and fax numbers, and e-mail addresses.

The government requests that no proprietary or confidential business data be submitted in a response to this notice. However, responses that indicate the information therein is proprietary will be properly safeguarded for Government use only. Submission of information must include the name and telephone number of a point of contact having authority and knowledge to discuss responses with Government representatives.

Any other specific and relevant information about this particular area of procurement that would improve our consideration and evaluation of the information presented is desirable. Documentation may include, but not be limited to, contracts both Government and commercial the organization performed, references, i.e., names, titles, telephone numbers and any other information serving to document the organizations capability, e.g., awards, commendations, etc.

Any business concerns that would like to contribute to this request for information must SUBMIT A RESPONSE ELECTRONICALLY to the Contract Specialist, Rob Bailey at Rob.Bailey@nih.gov, NO LATER THAN 4:00 p.m. EST on February 12, 2024. The Subject line for the submission should include this Request for Information Number and organization name. NIDA will not accept paper or faxed responses.

THIS NOTICE IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS. This notice is for information and planning purposes only and does not commit the Government to any contractual agreement. This RFI does not guarantee that the Government will issue a solicitation or award a contract for supplies or services. No specific solicitation is planned to follow this RFI; however, the responses could impact the Government’s decision to release multiple solicitations in the future. Proprietary information will be safeguarded in accordance with the applicable government regulations. Any material received will be public domain unless clearly marked (on each page) as proprietary. The Government shall not be liable for or suffer any consequential damages for proprietary information not properly identified. Not responding to this RFI will not preclude an entity from submitting a proposal to any subsequent NOAA solicitations.

CONFIDENTIALITY. No proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information should be included in your response. The Government reserves the right to use any non-proprietary technical information in any subsequent solicitation(s).

POINT OF CONTACT:

Rob Bailey

Contract Specialist

Rob.Bailey@nih.gov

Phone: 301-451-7586

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