Pentagon Plans For Networked Warfare Will Falter Without Better Access Controls

The thought is simple: springiness each U.S. warfighters entree to nan aforesaid high-speed web truthful they tin stock captious accusation and prime nan optimum consequence to immoderate threat.

That is nan imagination down nan Joint All-Domain Command and Control system, universally referred to successful subject circles arsenic JADC2. It’s an thought that has been kicking astir for decades, but now is becoming feasible acknowledgment to nan integer revolution.

Feasible successful this lawsuit intends a warfighting web that is rapid, robust and reliable. Oh yes, and secure.

That past point whitethorn beryllium nan biggest challenge, because erstwhile you create a web wherever each accusation useful to warfighters is readily available, it is perfectly basal that enemies not summation access.

If they did, it would beryllium for illustration a medieval lord handing barbarians nan keys to nan kingdom.

There’s nary constituent successful pursuing JADC2 unless policymakers are definite they tin unafraid it against unauthorized intrusions.

That brings maine to ICAM—the acronym for identity, credential and entree guidance tools. Every subject web has immoderate system for trying to support retired malicious actors.

However, nan mechanisms alteration from web to network. As nan Pentagon’s existent ICAM strategy warns, “The distribution of authentication decisions crossed thousands of applications hosted by DoD and commercialized unreality vendors makes it virtually intolerable for nan United States Cyber Command (USCC) to adequately place malicious transverse level activity aliases personality fraud.”

We cognize nan existing ICAM protections don’t activity perfectly, because of nan wave pinch which delicate information is leaked aliases stolen.

As agelong arsenic nan military’s web architecture is fragmented, location is simply a limit to what nefarious actors tin accomplish. But erstwhile everybody is connected nan aforesaid network, nan threat from intrusions is unlimited.

The Pentagon requires a rigorous, department-wide ICAM solution that goes beyond nan prevailing attack of creating checkpoints astatine nan perimeter of nan network. It needs a system that continuously verifies nan credentials of immoderate personification successful nan system, calibrated to nan ngo and level of classification wherever each personification is operating.

The department’s coming ICAM strategy provides a imagination of what is needed: “A unafraid trusted situation wherever group and non-person entities tin securely entree each authorized resources based connected ngo need, and wherever we cognize who and what is connected our networks astatine immoderate time.”

Assuring accelerated entree to unafraid information is particularly captious astatine what warfighters picture arsenic nan “tactical edge”—in different words, places wherever combat is imaginable aliases already underway.

Without entree to nan champion accusation astatine nan fastest gait imaginable from each disposable sources, galore lives whitethorn beryllium lost. But lives tin besides beryllium mislaid if adversaries are capable to entree nan aforesaid information flows.

General Dynamics Information Technology precocious collaborated pinch Fortinex successful conducting nan first workout demonstrating really a rigorous ICAM strategy tin run astatine nan tactical edge.

GDIT holds a statement from nan Defense Information Systems Agency to devise a department-wide ICAM system. Its genitor institution contributes to my deliberation tank.

The Senate Armed Service Committee, successful its projected type of nan National Defense Authorization Act for 2024, calls connected nan defense section to make ICAM a programme of record, formalizing its position arsenic an finance priority.

In nan committee’s words, “An enterprise-wide ICAM capacity is simply a captious and pressing request for nan Department of Defense (DOD) not only for cybersecurity, but besides for managing analyzable multi-domain subject operations involving accusation and systems classified astatine aggregate levels.”

That beautiful overmuch captures what JADC2 is each about, and creating specified a associated warfighting web is nan centerpiece of Pentagon modernization plans.

However, advancement connected implementing nan web wrong nan section is uneven astatine best. For instance, nan Biden management canceled plans for a azygous associated unreality computing system, and alternatively parceled retired pieces betwixt 4 tech companies.

It had sound reasons for doing so, but buying 4 clouds from 4 vendors is going to summation nan situation of securing nan wide network. Hence nan Armed Services Committee’s telephone for a programme of grounds that tin guarantee identity, credentialing and entree guidance person due privilege successful modernization plans.

The bottommost statement connected each of this is that if nan subject can’t guarantee nan information of its associated warfighting web successful early conflicts, nan web could go an force of occurrence alternatively than an enabler of victory.

That has to statesman by continuously monitoring each users of nan network, successful what planners for illustration to telephone a “zero-trust” accusation environment.

As President Reagan liked to opportunity of arms power agreements, ‘trust but verify.’ Our warfighters request to beryllium definite nan force isn’t sharing their astir delicate information.

Disclosure: General Dynamics, which has developed a department-wide ICAM system, contributes to my deliberation tank—the Lexington Institute.