FAQs

Can our evaluation begin right away?
We have no queue. The SAIC Common Criteria Testing Laboratory (CCTL) has project management expertise, proven evaluation techniques, and 18 full-time evaluators. For specific technologies, we have immediate access to additional employees and a large team of IT security engineers and product specialists.

Does the SAIC CCTL offer Firm-Fixed-Price (FFP) contracts?
Yes, for the Initial Assessment and Security Target tasks. However, to protect you, us, and our business relationship, SAIC uses a Time & Materials (T&M) contract for the evaluation task. Common Criteria evaluations are interactive and dynamic. Therefore, the SAIC CCTL believes that a T&M contract saves you money in the long run because you pay for only the hours SAIC actually uses.

We will be happy to direct you to our clients. Please feel free to ask them about SAIC's ability to perform successful, timely, and cost-effective CC evaluations.

Do you do EAL1 evaluations?
We don't do EAL1 evaluations. We do not believe they offer any value to either the DoD or our clients.

Will SAIC add a "not to exceed" statement to the evaluation task in the contract?
Our contracts for the evaluation task are T&M only. Adding a cap adds a Fixed Price element to the evaluation task in the proposal that may limit a client's decision to add functionality, platforms, and change the evaluated version before testing.

What Evaluation Assurance Level (EAL) should I attain?
If an EAL is not specified by a Protection Profile or your DoD client a vendor should seek an EAL level that makes business and market sense. An SAIC CCTL Initial Assessment will help you in the decision process.