DOD's top cyber officials outline department's cyber digital transformation progress

By the Office of Strategic Communication and Public Affairs

The United States Department of Defense continues to face evolving cyber threats and must keep pace with the global-impacting domain to preserve national security interests, DOD's top cyber official told lawmakers on Friday.

DISA continues to strengthen the DOD's digital technologies and forces in response to global cyber threats, including the ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza and "nefarious activities" from the People's Republic of China, said United States Air Force Lt. Gen. Robert J. Skinner, Defense Information Systems Agency director and Joint Forces Headquarters-Department of Defense Information Network commander.

Skinner joined John B. Sherman , DOD chief information officer, and Craig Martell , DOD chief digital and artificial intelligence officer. They discussed the DOD's digital transformation progress before the House Armed Services Committee for Cyber, Innovative Technologies and Information Systems in Washington, D.C., March 22.

"As we have seen in Asia and Europe, the cyber threats we face today are evolving, and we must keep pace to both support the nation's warfighters and protect key national security capabilities," Sherman said.

Skinner added that the DOD must continue to protect its networks and industrial base. Implementing Zero Trust across the Defense Department remains a top priority for securing critical information, and this includes expanding eligibility for the Defense Industrial Base to enhance its cybersecurity posture.

Skinner identified DISA's Thunderdome initiative is in "lockstep with the Defense Department's Zero Trust Strategy.”

Thunderdome is critical to the Defense Department's migration from legacy Joint Regional Security Stacks capabilities and ensures a common IT infrastructure aligning under Zero Trust architectural principles. DISA has already deployed the capability to 15 sites and will continue accelerating deployment to 60 more sites this year, including the U.S. Coast Guard and United States Southern Command.

The DOD continues to move forward on implementing Zero Trust across the defense enterprise and with allies and partners, according to Sherman's and Skinner's written statement. DOD CIO received implementation plans from each military component and is working to shape, support and recommend solutions to meet targeted level zero-trust requirements successfully.

Thunderdome is also part of DISA's next-generation network and data environment, and it will provide defense agencies and combatant commands with "improved user experiences while also increasing cybersecurity by knowing who is accessing the network and data; limiting individuals to only that data they are authorized to access; enhanced data analytics through artificial intelligence; and increased segmentation, like firebreaks in houses that prevent fires from spreading," Skinner said.

Joint Warfighting Cloud Capability

Along with Zero Trust, senior leaders discussed DISA's Joint Warfighting Cloud Capability contract, which continues to provide access to multiple cloud capabilities that enable the warfighter to conduct operations anywhere in the world.

"Cloud computing and software modernization remain central to our IT modernization efforts," Sherman said. "Through the JWCC, DISA has successfully awarded more than 47 task orders over the last year and over 50 more in the pipeline right now."

Additionally, Skinner added, DISA recently kicked off a Joint Operational Edge hybrid-cloud pilot that will deploy capabilities to remote locations across the globe.

DISA must ensure DOD personnel have "secure and resilient software regardless of where they are located," Skinner said, referencing the impact of JWCC and Joint Operation Edge cloud capabilities.

Strategic Plan

In outlining DISA's plans for further modernization, Skinner referenced an upcoming strategic plan, identifying the agency's goals through fiscal years 2025-2029. He called the new strategy "the North Star" to enable best value capabilities to the Defense Department and warfighters.

The working strategy includes DISA's commitment to the National Leadership Command Capability, which Skinner referred to as a "no-fail mission."

"Within our strategy, DISA will deploy an integrated multiple-level secure voice and video communications and conferencing capability to provide direct support to senior leaders including the president, secretary of defense, the chairman and the nuclear command and control community."

Moreover, DISA's ability to meet the DOD's future cyber and IT goals will require a bold, innovative and critically thinking workforce. According to Skinner, the agency's Workforce 2025 strategy aligns with the DOD's Cyber Workforce Strategy. It includes key objectives to recruit, retain and develop personnel that can provide the right skillsets for their positions.

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