General Dynamics Information Technology (GDIT) has disclosed that it won a contract valued at $285m from the Commonwealth of Virginia to enhance cybersecurity measures across the state’s digital infrastructure.

The contract, awarded in October to the General Dynamics’ business unit, includes a one-year transition period, a five-year base term, and three additional one-year options.

GDIT will provide a range of cybersecurity services to the Virginia Information Technologies Agency (VITA), which manages IT operations for 67 state agencies and supports more than 8.8 million residents.

The General Dynamics unit will deploy its Eclipse Defensive Cyber and Everest Zero Trust Digital Accelerators to deliver services such as vulnerability management, zero trust frameworks, and continuous security operations centre monitoring.

Commonwealth of Virginia chief information security officer Michael Watson said: “This partnership with GDIT marks a significant advancement in our efforts to modernise defenses against evolving threats.

“It provides greater agility to how the Commonwealth’s network is protected and allows us to better prepare for emerging challenges, such as AI-driven attacks and quantum computing.”

The contract outlines the use of AI to automate security monitoring and integrate advanced cybersecurity tools, aiming to improve threat detection capabilities.

GDIT will also assist VITA with post-quantum cryptography projects, focusing on protecting sensitive information from potential quantum computing threats, updating encryption protocols, and facilitating a secure shift to quantum-resilient systems.

GDIT vice-president and state and local government general manager Scott Mack said: “From public safety to education, Virginia’s ability to deliver essential services to millions of residents depends on a secure digital infrastructure.

“We look forward to delivering advanced technology solutions to build resilience into agencies’ systems, protect against evolving cyberthreats and enhance the state’s overall cybersecurity posture.”

This agreement extends GDIT’s involvement with state and local government clients across the US.

GDIT has previously provided technology services for public sector programmes in states, including Alabama, Arkansas, California, Maryland, Mississippi, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, and Texas.

Last month, GDIT expanded its partnership with Google Public Sector to accelerate US government innovation. The collaboration will focus on delivering secure AI and cloud capabilities to the tactical edge for defence and intelligence bodies and transforming citizen services for civilian agencies.

The effort combines GDIT’s mission and systems-integration experience with Google Cloud’s AI, cloud, and cybersecurity tools.

GDIT will bring its Digital Accelerators portfolio onto Google Cloud to speed solution development and deployment, helping agencies improve decision-making, strengthen security, reduce costs, and advance mission outcomes.