Amazon scores $600m deal with CIA

Amazon has agreed to a cloud computing contract with the CIA worth up to $600 million over 10 years, reports federal IT blog FCW.

“Amazon Web Services will help the intelligence agency build a private cloud infrastructure that helps the agency keep up with emerging technologies like big data in a cost-effective manner not possible under the CIA’s previous cloud efforts,” sources told FCW.

The blog reports that Amazon officials and a CIA spokesperson have both declined to confirm the existence of the contract, but the blog also noted that at recent speaking engagements CIA officials have mentioned Amazon as a model for cost-effective data management.