In August, the Department of the Air Force (DAF) held the annual Department of the Air Force IT Conference (DAFITC) in Montgomery, Alabama. They brought together leading voices from the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Space Force, industry and academia centered on the theme “Lethality, Readiness and Efficiency.” The event spotlighted how modern IT infrastructure, cybersecurity, data and workforce development are all coming together to shape a more agile, secure and mission-ready force.

Federal officials have released a first of its kind Strategy focused on the security of the government’s space-based platforms and infrastructure, and the impact commercial solutions may have on supporting the continued need in this space; pun intended. According to the document, the 2024 Department of Defense (DoD) Commercial Space Integration Strategy is a first for the Department of Defense, and “provides a vision for prioritizing and aligning efforts to integrate commercial solutions into our national security space architecture.”

What’s this for?

The United States spent $554 billion in discretionary contracts for goods and services during FY18, covering the gamut from janitorial services to hand grenades. This number ranks higher than Sweden’s gross domestic product, as well as 165 other countries’ GDP.

This month, DLT sat down with James Ebeler, the Chief Technology Officer, Department of Defense, for Iron Bow Technologies. In this interview, James discusses the cybersecurity challenges facing our military and how Iron Bow is helping solve them with innovative solutions.

DLT: Good morning, James. Thanks for joining us today for this interview.

James: Good morning, happy to be here.

DLT: Fantastic, let’s dive right in. First, can you tell us about your role at Iron Bow Technologies?

The DoD Cybersecurity Strategy https://www.fifthdomain.com/dod/2018/09/19/department-of-defense-unveils-new-cyber-strategy/ stresses nine key points. With the end of FFYE looming, are you aligning your spending with these objectives?

A survey of Department of Defense employees commissioned by DLT partner, Veritas, and conducted by Federal Computer Week found that 46% of respondents agree that data drives all or most of their decisions (58%), yet only 13% would rate their data management capabilities as “Excellent” while 60% rate them as “Satisfactory” or “Poor”.

Challenges Across Each Stage of Data Life Cycle

Federal IT pros are facing “Herculean tasks” when it comes to security challenges, a new survey conducted by DLT partner, SolarWinds, reveals.

Could the technology that powers shadowy online cryptocurrencies used by terrorists, cyber criminals, and money launderers soon be deployed by the Department of Defense?

Security has become one of the biggest IT challenges in the last 20 years. Regulations, threats, and the many different ways in which adversaries can gain access to sensitive network infrastructures, particularly within the Department of Defense (DoD), have spurred cyber priorities and strategic goals. These include defending the DoD information network, securing DoD data, and mitigating risks to DoD missions (Strategic Goal II) while being prepared to defend the U.S.

Net-centric and data-centric warfare is transforming how warfighters conduct operations. Data from satellite feeds, remote sensors, ship manifests, etc. depend on secure and quality data to inform intelligence-based decision-making.