Page 39 - FCW, March/April 2021

AgencySpotlight | DISA
The Defense Information Systems Agency
DISA is driving cybersecurity, cloud and enterprise services across DOD, including the expansion of secure telework options
by Lauren C. Williams
The Defense Information Systems Agen- cy, the bedrock of the Defense Depart- ment’s IT, has more than 19,000 employ- ees and a more than $10 billion annual budget. The agency’s role is especially consequential in 2021 as it pushes for- ward with plans to consolidate
all the defense agencies and field activities, which DOD refers to as the Fourth Estate, onto a single IT network.
The Fourth Estate Network Optimization program began
a four-year migration to a new DODNet in 2019 as part of
an effort to consolidate com-
monly used IT services, such
as help-desk support. The goal
is to standardize the look, feel
and implementation of common desk- top applications while reducing costs and cybersecurity risks.
The first five agencies are expected to move to DODNet by the end of fiscal 2021. Along the way, IT personnel at those agencies will become DISA em- ployees as part of efforts to make DISA the single service provider for DOD’s administrative support agencies.
Strengthening telework security
In its refreshed three-year strategy, DISA stresses cyber defense, cloud and enter- prise services. Initiatives also include expanding the availability of secure
telework options — such as the Cloud- Based Internet Isolation (CBII) pro- gram, which creates an air gap between DOD’s networks and internet browser activity to keep website vulnerabilities at bay, and an upgrade to the technical
cation system; and artificial intelligence and machine learning.
DOD employees have been under mass telework orders for more than a year because of the pandemic, which has intensified the demand for secure
solutions. As a result, “bring your own approved device” has become a top priority — especially as DOD moves to a permanent Microsoft Office 365 solution this summer.
To enhance the secure use of classified data during telework, DISA is exploring a potential gray network as an added layer of protection and testing a prototype of a virtual mobile infrastructure.
Additionally, officials would like to have the ability to analyze encrypted traf- fic for anomalies so they can better detect malware, and they are exploring alterna- tives to network perimeter security that use zero trust principles.
Goals for 2021 and beyond
Earlier this year, DISA fully took over the operations of DOD’s Cloud Computing Program Office. Vice Adm. Nancy Nor- ton, who was DISA’s director and com- mander of the Joint Force Headquarters- DOD Information Network (DODIN) at the time, said the move solidified DISA’s goal of becoming the implementation
DOD employees have been under mass telework orders for more than a year because of the pandemic, which has intensified the demand for secure solutions.
infrastructure for the Non-classified IP Router Network and the Secret IP Router Network.
The CBII program was DISA’s first successful use of an other transaction au- thority (OTA) to streamline the process for creating a prototype and moving it into production, which has whetted the agency’s appetite for OTAs.
Officials plan to increase the use of OTAs and other rapid contracting tools to bring new technology from the labo- ratory to the field more quickly. DISA has three prototype OTAs, which focus on identity, credential and access man- agement; a field-deployable alert notifi-
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