Homeland Security Takes on Tech's 'Valley of Death'

In the startup world, the gap between when a technology is developed and when it becomes a viable product is known as the "valley of death." For innovations emerging from government labs, which are hidden from venture capitalists and held back by bureaucracy, the risk of a promising invention failing to see the light of day is especially high.

A new Department of Homeland Security program wants to help bridge that divide in the increasingly important realm of cyber security and defense. Called "Transition to Practice," the program couldn't sound more anodyne. But clinical title aside, the idea behind it has value.