WASHINGTON, March 14 (UPI) -- The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is setting up an online database of computer network usage information to improve cybersecurity in the private sector.

The database, to be called the Protected Repository for the Defense of Infrastructure Against Cyber Threats, or PREDICT, is designed to "facilitate the accessibility of computer and network operational data for use in cyber-defense research and development," says a notice requesting public comment posted in the federal register last month.

The database, funded by the Department of Homeland Security's Science and Technology Directorate, will set up "distributed repositories of security-relevant network operations data, and the application procedures, protection policies, and review processes necessary to make this data available to the cyber-defense research community," the notice said.

The data will be accessible through a secure Internet portal "that catalogs current computer network operational data, provides secure access to multiple sources of data collected as a result of use and traffic on the Internet, and facilitates data flow among PREDICT participants for the purpose of developing new models, technologies and products that support effective threat assessment and increase cybersecurity capabilities."

To establish the database, the department's Science and Technology Directorate is developing a series of forms through which they estimate as many as 275 individuals and organizations will eventually submit data.

The public comment period remains open until April 14. No comments were received during an earlier 60-day comment period that ended Feb. 26.

The initiative was first reported by Government Security News.