The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) has issued a $42 million contract to build cyber security capabilities.
The Wall Street Journal reported the deal, valued at less than the cost of a single fighter jet.
It reported systems being developed for the Computer Incident Response Capability centre "will need to collect and sift through vast amounts of data across NATO networks" to provide assistance to member governments.
Northrop Grumman European cyber operations head Chris Durbin told the publication the deal was seen as a means to position the company as a leader in the cyber security space.
More than 300 companies including IBM, Cisco and defence contractors Northrop Grumman and BAE could bid on the deal.
NATO has since the 2007 Estonia cyber attacks moved beyond protecting its own networks to building capabilities to assist member countries.
Defence contractors have also increased their stake in the burgeoning cyber security industry by snapping up information security companies.
Adelaide based security firm Stratsec had more than doubled its head count and increased its service offerings after it was bought by BAE Systems In November last year.
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