Lockheed Martin, a US arms manufacturer, has announced a contract with the Department of Defense Cyber Crime Center (DC3) worth an estimated $454 million, if all options of the contract are exercised.

The company is prepared to deliver a full range of technical, functional and managerial support to the DC3. It will involve the aspects of digital forensics, research and development, as well as tests and their evaluations. Because of its size, importance and priceless data, the Dept. of Defense is a target for cyber-criminals - anywhere from terrorists to spies to identity thieves. "Our industry team provides solutions to address a cyber-threat environment that is highly dynamic and growing in volume and complexity," said the DC3 program director for Lockheed Martin, Dr. Rohan Amin. The company added that it has been the US government's leading IT provider for years.

Lockheed Martin, based in Maryland, was itself a target of cyber thieves when a hacker tried to breach their firewalls. The company said that the hackers had carried out a significant and tenacious attack on its network. However, Lockheed Martin explained that it took aggressive actions to protect all systems and data and its system remained secure.