The FBI is looking for a “malware provider”

In a request for quote (RFQ) published on Monday, the Bureau has explained the reason behind their need:

The Operational Technology Division (OTD), Investigative Analysis Unit (IAU) of the FBI has the following mission: Provide technical analysis of digital methods, software and data, and provide technical support to FBI investigations and intelligence operations that involve computers, networks and malicious software.

The IAU has a team of highly trained technical analysts, specialists and engineers providing on-scene technical support, employing innovative, custom developed analytical methods and tools to analyze collected data.

Critical to the success of the IAU is the collection of malware from multiple industry, law enforcement and research sources.

The Bureau is looking for an average of 35 GB of malware per day. It can be in the form of executable files from Unix/Linux, Windows and Macintosh, archive and image files, audio and video files, MS Office documents, RTF, PDF, PHP, HTML and JavaScript files, and they have to be organised by SHA1 signatures.

The daily malware feed must be a “snapshot” of the prior 24 hours, and its retrieval automated via machine-to-machine communication.