Jaspreet Gill covers defense networks, C4ISR and emerging technologies for Breaking Defense. She previously worked as the senior technology reporter and an associate editor for Inside Defense, where she reported on emerging technologies, cybersecurity and the US Army, focusing on the service’s modernization priorities and acquisition programs. Jaspreet, an upstate New York native, is an alumna of Syracuse University’s renown S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, where she received a master’s degree in journalism.
The Army first put out guidance two years ago on the idea of creating “data stewards” for its commands who would act as “kind of our spokesman for our supply side,” and will start codifying it in fiscal 2024, David Markowitz told Breaking Defense.
At its most basic level, under CMMC 2.0, defense contractors and subcontractors that have access to controlled unclassified information (CUI) will be required to demonstrate the “maturity” of their cybersecurity programs against a set of increasingly advanced capabilities.
Partnerships with outside industry are a cornerstone of the kingdom’s ambitious growth strategy.
Here's what to watch for in the defense network, cyber and innovation space in 2024.
Defense Department Chief Information Officer John Sherman set the tone early in the year by telling Breaking Defense a major focus over 2023 would be aiming for baseline, targeted zero trust within four years.
This year Breaking Defense heard straight from some top network and tech officials in the Pentagon about their ambitious plans.
“We are in a very interesting era and we want to make sure that we are complying with the [Department of Defense] ethical AI principles,” Ramesh Menon, DIA chief technology officer, told reporters today.
On today’s battlefield, mobility isn’t optional - it’s mission-critical.
Sherman said that there is no timeframe for when the department will release a request for information for JWCC 2.0 or when the effort will roll out next year, but added that DoD was “firmly committed to multi-cloud, multi-vendor, and this is what we’re going to be doing going forward.”
NGA Director Vice Adm. Frank Whitworth also gave an update on Project Maven and how NGA is working to incorporate artificial intelligence, responsibly, to sift through mountains of data.
"We are living in more chaotic times than ever with crises around the world and we realize that everything is at stake to include our national security. As we think about the future, we are, as technologists, on the frontline to respond," DIA CIO Doug Cossa said.
"What this does today ... is that it provides the ability to bring a number of different information feeds, a number of different data sources together in one picture," Kevin Laughlin, deputy director for the program executive office for spectrum, told reporters.
Balancing security and access to data are critical to providing users with trustworthy, reliable data for real-time decisions.
"We’ve had tremendous experience. But the scope, scale, sophistication of the threat has changed," US Cyber Command chief Gen. Paul Nakasone said.
Brig. Gen. Ed Barker gave reporters a look ahead on his fiscal 2024, 2025 and 2026 priorities.
In January, Army Under Secretary Gabe Camarillo said the Army was moving away from a single-vendor approach the service has used in the past and was planning to award multiple vendors a spot for the re-compete.
The Pentagon is “working to update the processes, procedures, authorities, to make it easier to share, to incentivize, to reduce those barriers so that we can actually learn from each other,” Rear Adm. Peter Vasely said.