Cybersecurity Contract Obligations Nearly Triple QoQ
Summary
Federal contracts matching "cybersecurity" drew [$498.9 million in obligations across 159 awards](https://www.usaspending.gov/search) in FY2026 Q2 (Jan–Mar 2026) — up 182% from $177.1 million in Q1 and up 11% from $449.3 million a year earlier, a rebound after a slow start to the fiscal year. The Pentagon obligated 46% of it.
The jump is a swing back to trend, not a breakout. Cyber-tagged obligations ran between roughly $450 million and $465 million through most of fiscal 2025 before a $816 million year-end surge, then cratered to $177 million as fiscal 2026 began. Q2's $498.9 million puts the line back where it sat for most of last year.
View data as table
| FY25 Q1 | 260,167,181.6 | |
|---|---|---|
| FY25 Q2 | 449,327,487.4 | |
| FY25 Q3 | 465,432,708.2 | |
| FY25 Q4 | 816,295,830.6 | Year-end surge — the largest quarter in the window |
| FY26 Q1 | 177,099,463.2 | Slow start to the fiscal year |
| FY26 Q2 | 498,933,907.9 | Nearly triple Q1; up 11% year-over-year |
| FY26 Q3 | 265,397,781.5 | Eased back the next full quarter |
Defense buys nearly half of it
One buyer sets the shape: the Department of Defense obligated $227.8 million, 46% of the quarter. Health and Human Services ($69.0M), USAID ($55.2M), and Energy ($50.7M) fill most of the rest. Among named vendors, Accenture Federal Services led at $48.7 million, followed by Iron Vine Security at $37.4 million. The single largest cyber-tagged vehicle active in the quarter is a Lockheed Martin Air Force contract valued at $666 million over its life — a reminder that a few large defense vehicles dominate the keyword.
View data as table
| Defense | 227,786,376.3 | 46% of the quarter's cyber obligations |
|---|---|---|
| Health & Human Services | 69,017,582.3 | |
| USAID | 55,247,000 | |
| Energy | 50,730,417.3 | |
| All other agencies | 96,152,532.1 | Includes Social Security Administration and Homeland Security |
- Nearly triple, quarter over quarter. Cyber-tagged contract obligations rose from $177.1 million in Q1 to $498.9 million in Q2 FY2026 — up 182%, and up 11% against the same quarter last year.
- A rebound, not a record. Q2's total sits inside fiscal 2025's normal $450M–$465M range; obligations then eased to $265.4 million in Q3 FY2026, so the surge did not hold.
- Defense concentration. The Pentagon accounted for 46% of the quarter; across all 159 awards the mean is about $3.1 million, but a handful of large defense vehicles pull that average well above the typical contract.
Figures are contract obligations (award types A–D: definitive contracts plus purchase-order and actions) whose award text matches the keyword "cybersecurity," pulled from the USAspending.gov API on August 14, 2026. Keyword matching is broad — it captures IT and engineering vehicles that mention cybersecurity among other scopes — so these totals track the label, not a clean cyber-only budget line. Per-award "award amount" figures are lifetime contract values and are not summed against the quarter's obligations. USAspending draws from the Federal Procurement Data System; the underlying transaction records can be revised. The exact API request bodies that reproduce every figure are recorded in this article's source pool. No private individual is named; vendors are companies and agencies are institutions.
Sources(5) ▾
- U.S. Department of the Treasury, Bureau of the Fiscal Service (USAspending.gov), USAspending.gov — Spending Over Time (contract obligations, keyword "cybersecurity", grouped by quarter) (2026-08-14) — The quarterly contract-obligation series. Reproduce with an HTTP POST to this endpoint, body: {"group":"quarter","filters":{"award_type_codes":["A","B","C","D"],"keywords":["cybersecurity"],"time_period":[{"start_date":"2024-10-01","end_date":"2026-08-14"}]}}. Returns Contract_Obligations per fiscal quarter: FY2025 Q1 $260,167,181.55; Q2 $449,327,487.35; Q3 $465,432,708.18; Q4 $816,295,830.62; FY2026 Q1 $177,099,463.16; Q2 $498,933,907.91; Q3 $265,397,781.54. Award types A-D are definitive contracts and /purchase-order actions; the keyword matches transactions whose award text contains "cybersecurity." api.usaspending.gov · original document
- U.S. Department of the Treasury, Bureau of the Fiscal Service (USAspending.gov), USAspending.gov — Spending by Award Count (contracts, keyword "cybersecurity", Jan 1 – Mar 31 2026) (2026-08-14) — The award count behind the FY2026 Q2 window. POST body: {"filters":{"award_type_codes":["A","B","C","D"],"keywords":["cybersecurity"],"time_period":[{"start_date":"2026-01-01","end_date":"2026-03-31","date_type":"action_date"}]}}. Returns results.contracts = 159. api.usaspending.gov · original document
- U.S. Department of the Treasury, Bureau of the Fiscal Service (USAspending.gov), USAspending.gov — Spending by Category: Awarding Agency (contracts, keyword "cybersecurity", Jan 1 – Mar 31 2026) (2026-08-14) — The agency composition of the Q2 FY2026 obligations. POST body: {"category":"awarding_agency","filters":{"award_type_codes":["A","B","C","D"],"keywords":["cybersecurity"],"time_period":[{"start_date":"2026-01-01","end_date":"2026-03-31"}]},"limit":6}. Top results (transaction obligations): Department of Defense $227,786,376.26; Department of Health and Human Services $69,017,582.28; Agency for International Development $55,247,000.00; Department of Energy $50,730,417.32; Social Security Administration $24,100,219.88; Department of Homeland Security $19,754,964.67. api.usaspending.gov · original document
- U.S. Department of the Treasury, Bureau of the Fiscal Service (USAspending.gov), USAspending.gov — Spending by Category: Recipient (contracts, keyword "cybersecurity", Jan 1 – Mar 31 2026) (2026-08-14) — The vendor composition of the Q2 FY2026 obligations. POST body: {"category":"recipient","filters":{"award_type_codes":["A","B","C","D"],"keywords":["cybersecurity"],"time_period":[{"start_date":"2026-01-01","end_date":"2026-03-31"}]},"limit":6}. Top named vendors (transaction obligations): Accenture Federal Services LLC $48,702,775.57; Iron Vine Security LLC $37,386,421.56; General Dynamics Information Technology, Inc. $34,880,902.90; Booz Allen Hamilton Inc $27,049,132.20; FedTec LLC $21,079,627.34. The single largest line, $55,247,000.00, is activity coded to 'Domestic Awardees (Undisclosed)' rather than a named company. api.usaspending.gov · original document
- U.S. Department of the Treasury, Bureau of the Fiscal Service (USAspending.gov), USAspending.gov — Spending by Award (contracts, keyword "cybersecurity", Jan 1 – Mar 31 2026, sorted by award amount) (2026-08-14) — The individual cybersecurity-tagged contracts with activity in Q2 FY2026, largest first by total award value. Largest: Lockheed Martin Corporation (Air Force AFSOC ACTS), total award value $666,310,175.84; Amentum Technology (Missile Defense Agency IT/cyber) $524,055,138.18; General Dynamics IT ( enterprise IT/cyber) $396,604,521.78. 'Award Amount' is the contract's cumulative obligated/total value across its life, NOT the amount obligated in Q2 alone. api.usaspending.gov · original document
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Federal contracts tagged "cybersecurity" drew $498.9 million in obligations across 159 awards in the second quarter of fiscal 2026 (January through March 2026), per USAspending.gov. That is nearly triple the $177.1 million obligated in the first quarter and 11% above the $449.3 million booked in the same quarter a year earlier — a rebound, not a new peak, after the fiscal year opened slow.