Dr. Britta Hale, DoD CIO
The purpose of the Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) break-out session is to provide an overview of PQC strategy goals and challenges. It is important to understand that all DoD National Security Systems (NSS) and Non-NSS employ interoperable, agile, secure, and PQC Systems to support the complex use environment.
Dr. Matthew Campagna, Amazon
Dr. Britta Hale, DoD CIO
Mr. Mike Ounsworth, Entrust
Dr. Douglas Steblia, University of Waterloo
The purpose of the Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) break-out session is to provide an overview of PQC strategy goals and challenges through panel discussion with academic and industry experts in the field, including those deploying PQC. These insights provide context on PQC transition, including strategic and tactical transition considerations.
Ms. Carol Assi, Deputy Chief Information Officer for Cybersecurity Chief Operations Officer, Department of Defense, Office of the Chief Information Officer
Discussion on the current gaps in defense of specific technologies table-top exercises (e.g., weapons systems) and how they will relate to the upcoming DoDI 8530.01 update.
Ms. Carol Assi, Deputy Chief Information Officer for Cybersecurity Chief Operations Officer, Department of Defense, Office of the Chief Information Officer
Audience will understand the DoDI 8530.01 roadmap and how it effects the CSSP Community of Interest.
Mr. Jeffrey Eyink, DoD CIO
Provide summit attendees with an understanding of the Federal Risk and Authorization Program (FedRAMP) background and applicability, as well as to detail the recent FedRAMP Joint Authorization Board (JAB) Transition of November 2024. Discuss the current state of and way ahead for FedRAMP’s new governance structure and authorization process to equip the audience with knowledge to best utilize FedRAMP in their roles and organizations, as applicable. Provide information for FEDRAMP Equivalency.
Mr. James Gillooley, DCIO(CS)/CMMC PMO
Ms. Dana Mason, DCIO(CS)/CMMC PMO
The purpose of this session is to help industry understand CMMC assessment requirements for various asset types to ease implementation.
Mr. James Gillooley, DCIO(CS)/CMMC PMO
Ms. Dana Mason, DCIO(CS)/CMMC PMO
The purpose of this session is to help industry understand how CMMC assessment requirements align to standards in National Institute of Standards and Technology Special Publications (NIST SP) 800-171 and -172.
Mr. Jeff Eyink, DoD CIO
Mr. James Gillooley, DCIO(CS)/CMMC PMO
Mr. William Spence, DCMA
The purpose of this session is to help participants understand how companies can achieve FedRAMP Authorization and Equivalency.
Ms. Lorraine DeBlasio, MITRE
Mr. John Duncan, USN
The purpose of these sessions are to provide an overview of the DoD Supplier Performance Risk System (SPRS) and the CMMC Enterprise Mission Assurance Support System (eMASS) database. These two DoD systems will be used to store CMMC assessment and affirmation data, support the acquisition workforce in understanding the current cyber posture of DIB companies, and provide reports and metrics on CMMC Program adoption.
Dr. Josef DeVaughn Allen, DoD CIO
The purpose of this session is to provide an overview of the DoD CIO’s plan to modernize the Cybersecurity Reference Architecture (CSRA) by transitioning from static, paper-based artifacts to dynamic, digital models. It introduces the application of Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) to the CSRA, addressing stakeholder challenges, mitigation strategies, and the development of interoperable and actionable models.
Mr. Kristopher Joiner, DoD CIO
The purpose of this session is to provide an overview of Cryptographic Modernization (CM), its DoD-wide challenges and strategy requirements to achieve a fully synchronized DoD-wide modernization plan.
Dr. Josef DeVaughn Allen, DoD CIO
The purpose of this Data-Centric Environment break-out session is to provide an overview of the Data-Centric Environment and the Digital Infrastructure Architecture, highlighting their components, interconnected roles, and how they support mission-critical operations through the integration of Identity, Credential and Access Management (ICAM), Data Centricity, and Infrastructure as Code (IaC) Cloud Hosting.
Mr. Les Call, DoD CIO
The purpose of this session is to provide the DoD cybersecurity community an update on FY25 Zero Trust implementation plans.
Mr. Darren Turner, DON CTO
The purpose of this session is to provide an overview of the Navy’s successful Flank Speed Zero Trust (ZT) effort and lessons learned. It provides insight into how the Navy developed, implemented, and assessed Flank Speed to achieve ZT outcomes effectively.
Mr. Kevin Davis, Advantage Engineering & IT Solutions
The purpose of this session is to inform the DoD cybersecurity community about how to use Zero Trust (ZT) and cybersecurity principles to create a Functional Assessment process for measuring ZT implementation accurately.
Mr. Jonathan Flack, USAF AFMC AFRL/IZ
Dr. Pam Kobryn, AFRL
Ms. Tiffany Roth, DISA
The purpose of this session is to provide the DoD cybersecurity community an overview of assessed ZT solutions, capabilities, and implementation lessons learned from DISA’s Thunderdome, and AFRL’s Google Cloud Platform.
Ms. Lisa Reginaldi, Gartner
This presentation explores how attackers have started to exploit GenAI technology to craft better malicious and fraudulent content at scale and low cost. CISOs and their teams need to understand the changing threat landscape in order to build strong defensive solutions in response.
Mr. Tim Denman, Defense Acquisition University
Mr. George Alves, Defense Acquisition University
The purpose of this session is to summarize Zero Trust segmentation and to examine its importance as it relates to Zero Trust implementation within the Department of Defense.
Ms. Carol Assi, DoD CIO/CS
Introduce the (first) DoD Information and Communications Technology Supply Chain Risk Management (ICT-SCRM) Assurance Strategy and Implementation Plan (the strategy) and describe how the Department manages risk in the ICT supply chain at the strategic level.
Mr. Lewis “Lew” Call, Chief for Insider Threat OUSD(I&S/CL&S)
Mrs. Patricia “Trish” Janssen, Director for Capability Oversight (DoD DCIO(CS)/CO)
Lt Col Margell Munoz, Chief for UAM for Insider Threat (DoD DCIO(CS)/CO)
The purpose of this session is to provide insight into DoD User Activity Monitoring (UAM) priorities and challenges to minimize the risk of insider threats. It introduces the UAM ecosystem comprised of cyber tools, people, and processes that enable the collection and analysis of data to detect anomalous behavior of potential insider threats in support of the DoD’s Insider Threat Program.
Mr. Alan Mollenkopf, ARCYBER
Panoptic Junction uses AI to link EMASS, the platform for authorizing IT systems, with cybersecurity continuous monitoring tools that detect anomalous and malicious cyber activity. This session will provide an overview of our AI driven platform that when productized, will enable scalable, continuous security monitoring of IT systems and more effective detection of anomalous and malicious cyber activity.
Mr. Nathan Ron-Ferguson, NGA
This brief will explore how a partnership between cyber domain experts and data science professionals is helping to modernize defensive cyber operations at the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA). The presentation will cover the team structure and the specific tools, methods, and models that they are using to collect, transform, and operationalize AI/ML for defensive cyber operations.
Mr. Brannon Jones, Cyber Security Mobility Analyst
The purpose of this session is to provide guidance and clarity for using mobile devices and applications (apps) to access Department of Defense information. This guidance is a combination of multiple policies that maintain the security of authorized, mission-related mobile apps, collaboration capabilities, non-mission apps, and where apps are allowed for use.
Mrs. Patricia “Trish” Janssen, Director for Capability Oversight (DoD DCIO(CS)/CO)
Mr. Spencer Rothermel, C2C SME
Mr. Joshua Sawyer, Endpoint Security SME
The purpose of this session is to discuss CIO’s proposed way ahead for the endpoint security and C2C programs, modernizing the way we think about device categories to improve understanding of the overall cyber threat landscape. This includes updating data reporting requirements and expanding cybersecurity capabilities to better protect Operational Technology.
Dr. Annie Weathers, MIT Lincoln Library
Ms. Sandra Kline, DoD
The purpose of this session is to provide the DoD cybersecurity community with an overview of Zero Trust (ZT) implementation for DoD Operational Technology (OT), specifically discussing ZT objectives, risks, architecture, pilots, and outcomes for Facility-Related Control Systems (FRCS).
Dr. Matthew Turek, DARPA
The brief will provide the audience with a better understanding about how the Information Innovation Office (I2O) at the Defense Advance Research Projects Agency (DARPA) leverages advances in state-of-the-art AI to produce trustworthy cyber capabilities that operate beyond human capacity and speed to surprise adversaries and maintain an enduring advantage for national security.
Mr. Jeffrey Eyink, DoD CIO
By the end of the presentation the audience will explain the current “Assess Only” process and guidance. DoD organizations will be able to effectively implement the updated guidance and establish a standardized enterprise-wide process for assessing products and services, and AI technologies that do not meet system-level criteria.
Mr. McKay Tolboe, DoD CIO
Provide summit attendees with an understanding of current Cybersecurity Hardening Scorecard efforts and receive feedback on the way ahead.
Mr. James Doswell, CDAO
Mr. Aaron Sant-Miller, CDAO
Perceptor is a government-owned, DoD-authorized AI/ML orchestration platform. Perceptor accelerates model deployment timelines into DoD missions, scales industry and commercial AI/ML use across the DoD enterprise while protecting commercial intellectual property and enables robust AI/ML fielding across the Joint Force.
Moderator: Lisa R
Panelists: David Pierce, Army Intel; David Lower, USMC Intel; Shaya Heckman, ONI; Jose Romo, DIA
Join a panel of data leaders from across the community, including Chief Data Officers, for a conversation on driving mission outcomes through data interoperability. Facilitated by IC Data Services, panelists from Army Intel, DIA, Marine Corps Intel, and the Office of Naval Intelligence will share their perspectives on data management as an AI enabler, data mesh and data architecture, data strategy as a tool to measure impact, and other trends in tackling data challenges.
Moderator: Jennifer Griffin, ODNI
Panelists: Dylon Young, OUSD(I&S); Joe Whitaker (DIA)
The intelligence mission continues to move towards a multi-element, multi-INT paradigm, bringing the best of breed from different elements to solve mission problems. Improving the interoperability of our data and our systems will allow the infusion of more modern approaches to connect the right people, at the right time, and in the right way.
Panelists will discuss ways to promote and introduce more modern and effective multi-fabric capabilities and standards to support enterprise functions and mission objective.
Panelists: Lawrence Taxson, CIA; Augustus Aikins, CIA; Crystal Allen, FBI; James Cherry, NGA; LT Mary Nelson, NRO
As we stride into an AI-enabled future, fostering collaboration and adaptability is paramount. The IC needs to streamline its approach towards an optimized multiple cloud environment. The IC’s cloud environment comprises enterprise capabilities as well as IC element hybrid and on-premise solutions. The Commercial Cloud Enterprise (C2E) contract provides IC elements with access to multiple industry-leading cloud service providers (CSP) to complement their hybrid and on-premise storage, compute, and other cloud-based services.
Panelists will discuss how this evolution empowers IC elements to tackle challenges head-on, ensuring data accessibility anytime, anywhere, under any circumstance—all while upholding the highest standards of security and compliance.
Panelists: Bradley Shere (ODNI); Evan Kehayias, NGA; Brian McKenney, ODNI; Mauri Hampton, NRO
In an era where cybersecurity takes center stage, the IC is aggressively bolstering its protective measures over critical infrastructure. Technical leaders from the IC operate under key assumptions which include: (1) the persistence of cyber operations by adversaries, (2) the inseparable link between cybersecurity and mission success, and (3) a transformative shift underway in cybersecurity practices.
Panelists will explore actionable strategies to enhance the IC’s defensive security posture. This includes modernizing security enclaves to ensure analysts have secure, authorized access to available data within stringent access control and need-to-know parameters.
Moderator: Terence Goggin, ODNI
Panelists: Stephanie LaRue, ODNI; Paula Briscoe, ODNI; Lesley “Tania”White, NSA; Cynthia Turner, DIA; Jennifer Griffin, ODNI
Enabling the mission of 18 separate intelligence elements requires removing the barriers and obstacles of dynamic collaboration and information sharing. The IC needs to be able to tap into the entire talent pool by realizing IT accessibility at scale and improving the user experience for all users. User-facing IT assets should be perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust for all members of the IC workforce.
Panelists will address the crucial task of fortifying accessibility to enhance collaboration—a cornerstone of mission success.
This session will focus on aspects of Focus Area 3, Enable the Mission with Modern Practices and Partnerships, of the recently released Vision for the IC Information Environment: An Information Technology Roadmap.
Moderator: Jennifer Griffin, ODNI
Panelists: Jasmine Leveille, ODNI; Col Michael Medgyessy, USAF; Irving “Mac” Townsend, DIA
At the heart of the intelligence mission lies data—a precious resource that must be effectively governed and managed across the IC ecosystem. Yet, in today’s landscape, data is often siloed, impeding accessibility, interoperability, and reusability across organizations. This fragmentation poses significant challenges in sharing data within the IC and with our national security partners.
Panelists will shed light on ongoing initiatives aimed at allowing the IC to retain superiority in an increasingly hyper-connected, data-driven, AI-powered world.
This session will focus on Focus Area 4, Enhance the Mission with Data-Centricity, of the recently released Vision for the IC Information Environment: An Information Technology Roadmap.
Presenter: Ken Arora, Distinguished Engineer, F5
In today’s complex defense and intelligence landscape, mission-critical data assets are distributed across multiple specialized data stores, often siloed within specific data centers or clouds. This fragmentation poses significant challenges to effective data sharing and utilization across agencies and platforms. Our presentation addresses two critical aspects of this problem:
1. Data Access: We explore innovative solutions enabling authorized users to locate and retrieve data while swiftly maintaining strict access controls.
Our approach combines:
a. Advanced federated identity management for both human and automated data consumers
b. Dynamic, context-aware authorization policies that factor in risk, geographical constraints, resource limitations, and temporal boundaries
2. Data Interoperability: We discuss strategies to ensure that accessed data is available, understandable, and actionable.
Key focus areas include:
a. Implementing robust data dictionaries and glossaries
b. Leveraging metadata annotations to provide critical context on data quality, provenance, and appropriate usage
This presentation will examine the root causes of these challenges and present cutting-edge architectural solutions. We’ll demonstrate how these approaches can significantly enhance data-sharing capabilities while maintaining the highest security and operational effectiveness standards. By addressing these critical issues, we aim to empower the intelligence community with the tools and strategies needed to harness the full potential of their data assets in an increasingly interconnected and data-driven world.
Presenters: Jerry R. (Rodney) Couick; Angela Donahoo
In today’s rapidly evolving landscape, federal acquisition professionals must be adept in quickly bringing innovative technologies to the field. This is especially true in the Defense ecosystem as US national security strategy shifts to address the re-emergence of Great Power competition. The
Small Business Innovation Research
(SBIR) program and Commercial Solutions Opening (CSO) authorities have been a cornerstone in advancing innovative technology. The CSO authority provides the government with efficient processes to competitively procure innovative and commercial solutions from non-traditional government contractors.
When an operational DoD unit, program office, or other DoD organization wants to use non-SBIR/STTR funds for Phase III projects, they often hit a roadblock. GSA’s Assisted Acquisition Service (AAS) provides a solution to this issue. AAS Innovation specializes in the complex acquisitions needed for cutting-edge technology. When your agency has an out-of-the-box technical need, GSA AAS Innovation can help make that contract a reality through innovative authorities.
This session will detail how GSA AAS can facilitate Phase III and CSO requirements, enabling access to nontraditional contractors and emerging technologies. Attendees will learn how to tap into these powerful GSA tools to meet critical mission needs, support small business growth, and leverage innovative solutions. This session aims to enhance awareness and understanding of how SBIR Phase III and CSO can be effectively utilized across the federal government, equipping acquisition professionals with the knowledge and resources to propel their agency mission forward.
Presenter: Charles F.
Data loss prevention (DLP), the ability to protect data in use, motion, and at rest from potential ex-filtration or unauthorized disclosure, is increasingly important as enterprises move towards data centricity and zero trust, but it’s not trivial. There are multiple mechanisms to enable/enforce DLP, but what happens when your business is data? Here we look at lessons learned from handling data at-scale while also considering “When does DLP matter most?” and what that means for your enterprise.
Presenter: Michael Lewis; Katie Kalthoff
Consistent with the theme of Integrated Deterrence through IT Superiority, this session will focus on innovation and increased capabilities provided by the DIA Platform-as-a-Service (DPaaS). DPaaS is an enterprise container management platform used for developing and deploying mission applications for the Defense Intelligence Enterprise. The platform provides the ability to abstract away physical hardware, storage, and networking from the application, enabling applications to take full advantage of hybrid and multi-cloud deployments and deploy consistently across network fabrics. DPaaS continuously is working to bring new features online to help mission capabilities further innovate, while prioritizing security and usability. This includes support for Windows containers, serverless, and storage resiliency. DPaaS is also pushing deployments to regional and edge locations to meet the demands of applications that need to operate in Denied, Degraded, Intermittent, and limited bandwidth (DDIL) scenarios. These deployments allow data to be processed closer to where it’s being generated, therefore, decreasing service disruptions and providing quick access to data in disconnected or resource constrained environments for forward deployed intelligence personnel. DPaaS continuously works to build a more resilient and reliable IT enterprise and equip the warfighters with operational continuity in the presence of disasters and threats.
Presenter: Ricky Clark, Deputy Director
The federal government is not immune from the need to #BeCyberSmart. In fact, the importance of federal cybersecurity cannot be overstated. Every day, the federal government fends off tens of thousands of cyberattacks from adversaries. Some of these attacks are simple phishing emails–aimed at hopefully tricking an unassuming federal employee into doing something wrong – but others are more sophisticated attacks targeting the nation’s most precious data assets.
For federal agencies to “Do Their Part,” they must equip themselves with the proper cybersecurity solutions. Cyber technologies run the gamut and procuring these technologies can often be difficult. For some agencies, procurement officers not versed in cybersecurity might find it challenging to get fair pricing. For others, fair opportunity competition might be a stumbling block they’re not familiar with. This session will explore the myriad ways agencies can acquire the cyber technology they need to achieve their IT missions.
Presenters: David Gregory, Chief Architect, Curtiss-Wright Defense Solutions; Dave Farquharson, Chief Network Architect, ID Secure
In the rapidly evolving landscape of modern warfare, the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) faces unprecedented challenges in securing its global communications and data. As technology advances, it is crucial to leverage cutting-edge solutions to establish a Zero Trust Global Network that empowers the DoD with a secure, private mobile network capability throughout both CONUS and OCONUS deployments.
This presentation will explore the potential of a Zero Trust Global Network, which can provide coverage in 248 countries and territories, connecting to 754 carriers worldwide. By utilizing intelligent SIM’s and eSIM’s, the DoD can achieve Over the Air (OTA) control, network obfuscation, and private networking-zero trust security features, enabling secure communications and data transfer in challenging operational environments.
The discussion will delve into the use-cases for network obfuscation, the fine-grain control possible via OTA, and options that which allow for the concealment of sensitive traffic from handsets and modular, transportable ad hoc networks in plain sight. Furthermore, the presentation will highlight the network’s ability to achieve high-throughput network transport through established in-country carriers, ensuring reliable and efficient communications in regions with limited connectivity options.
The implementation of a Zero Trust Global Network represents a significant step forward in safeguarding critical communications and data, empowering the DoD to meet the challenges of the 21st century.
Presenter: Ryan Wolfrum
Microsoft 365 (M365) is coming to DoDIIS Top Secret! M365 provides secure cloud-based services that include common office applications such as Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, SharePoint, and OneDrive for personal file storage. M365 will also spotlight Microsoft Teams which will provide a consolidated single collaborative interface for screen sharing, chat, and voice & video. This cloud-powered productivity platform will ensure DoDIIS customers have enhanced and federated capabilities; streamlining collaboration across the Defense Intelligence Enterprise (DIE), DoD, and IC.
Presenter: Charles F.
NSM-8 and EO 14028 necessitated the adoption of Zero Trust principals across the Executive Branch, including adopting a data-centric model for core systems. Zero Trust Data Format (ZTDF) builds upon NSA’s long history with Smart Data and building data-centric systems to expand and support the USG’s journey to ZT. As DoD moves to formalize and adopt ZTDF, we will look at the core components of ZTDF and how they provide security and control over data in the enterprise.
Presenter: Travis Jones (ODNI)
A thought-provoking discussion on ways to address the challenges facing the IC as it endeavors to equip its workforce with advanced technology skillsets such as AI.
Panelists will discuss criteria for measuring the implementation of advanced skillsets by newly hired and seasoned officers across the IC workforce and introduce bold suggestions for HR departments to consider in order to prevent highly trained officers from prematurely resigning from specialized assignments.
This session will focus on Focus Area 5, Accelerate the Mission with Advanced Technologies, of the recently released Vision for the IC Information
Presenters: Katie Neset; Aaron Lipps
Today, data is not easily accessible or retrievable across the Defense Intelligence Enterprise (DIE). Currently connecting to data is a time-consuming process requiring data consumers to find relevant data and then establish and maintain multiple point-to-point connections. This method costs time and resources, and often results in key decisions being made with the data available rather than the data needed. CDF manages the technical and bureaucratic burden of these point-to-point connections and changes the data sharing paradigm by making all registered data available via one connection. CDF also manages the Application Program Interfaces (API) and reduces the burden on systems providing data to outside users. By providing a single point data sharing solution, CDF provides more data to enhance analysis and decision making in support of the warfighters. CDF also provides a link between the IC and DOD, making that data more widely available to the DIE. This session will present the CDF capability and gain industry insight and best practices to improve data brokering for the DIE.
Presenters: Lauran Hix; Dan Kirkpatrick
DIA is at the beginning of a journey to modernize human capital management (HCM) while simultaneously leading the way to affect how the adoption of cloud software as a service (SaaS) is performed in classified cloud environments. Please join us for our discussion on the HR Modernization program -we will focus on the strategic modernization efforts of the agency’s HR system and our expected goals for the program, specifically diving into the technical challenges our team is working on to migrate to an elastic and resilient cloud-native HR solution, the benefits of a cloud-based solution, and the additional insight and analytics we’re aiming to achieve leveraging cloud infrastructure over the course of the program. In our talk we will share our initial lessons learned on our pursuit of commercial SaaS solutions in the cloud for TS, preparing for security authorization, and how we are preparing our internal enterprise service teams, cyber, and HR workforce for the future of HCM in the cloud.
Presenter: Charles Bellinger
As part of NGA’s greater multi-tiered edge strategy, Joint Regional Edge Nodes (JREN) and Odyssey systems are being deployed to combatant commands. JREN is an innovative, highly scalable capability is a next generation edge node providing the foundation to support Sensor to Effect (S2E) and future ground architecture with multiple cloud-like layers to enable seamless interoperability and collaboration of GEOINT in both a connected and disconnected state. Deployed in January 2022, JREN is designed to provide significant storage, compute, transport bandwidth, and applications closer to the tactical edge. JREN will support expanding DoD, IC and coalition customer requirements with area of operations specific content, GEOINT/partner applications and high-performance computing. Odyssey is forward-deployed system that provides browser-based access to applications and theater GEOINT data hosted on local servers to support users at the edge in the event of disconnected ops. Utilizing a combination of hardware, apps, data and products, Odyssey deployments are available via a web browser established on theater users networks and connected back to NGA. This presentation will focus on design considerations to include: increased resiliency in Denied, Degraded, Intermittent, Limited bandwidth (DDIL) environments via direct satellite down link, reduced transport latency and the use of the NGA CORE software development method to develop, deploy, and operate modern GEOINT software. All designed to facilitate the movement of critical intelligence and data sharing. It will also highlight how automation, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and other JREN and Odyssey services are prepared for the exponential growth in intelligence sensors and collection capabilities. NGA’s Common Operations Release Environment will be included in JREN deployments in the future.
Presenters: Theresa Kinney, Sr. Deputy Director, NASA SEWP; Rebecca McWhite, C-SCRM Technical Lead, NIST; Alexander Marshall, Technical Strategy Manager, NASA SEWP
Today the federal government leverages commercial standards more than ever. It should; after all its required of us. This breakout session elevates the understanding of commercial standards and their application to government IT acquisition.
Participants will learn:
• How commercial standards are developed.
• The role of standards bodies
• How government considers commercial standards in policy and legislation.
• Which commercial standards are applicable to IT product and service acquisitions
• The call for reciprocity
• The challenges of fixing a dynamic environment
Presenters: Col Mike Medgyessy; Norman Leach
Discussion of the global support of the Intelligence Community, and broader Department of the Air Force (DAF), through our transformative cloud-based digital infrastructure services, platform and collaboration tools. The Air Force Intelligence Community’s Digital Infrastructure leverages IC cloud capabilities, integrating them across the enterprise, from transport to analytic tools, to provide an agile, resilient and scalable information environment across multiple classifications. Come hear how DAF CLOUDworks provides customers with the superiority needed to be successful in defending against strategic competitors in the ever-changing digital warfighting domain.
Moderator: Dr. David DeProspero
Presenters: Col Mike Medgyessy, AFCIO; David Peña, PACAF
As modern military operations increasingly rely on seamless information flow, the ability to maintain communication and data exchange in Denied, Disrupted, Intermittent, and Limited (DDIL) environments becomes critical. Effective information sharing under these challenging conditions ensures operational continuity and strategic advantage. By exploring solutions such as cross-domain information sharing, we highlight how integrated deterrence can be achieved through robust, adaptable IT strategies.
Cross domain solutions enable secure, simultaneous handling of data across different security levels and facilitates the controlled access or transfer of information between diverse security domains. These technologies are pivotal in enhancing operational resilience and decision-making superiority, even when facing adversaries’ intent on disrupting communication networks. This discussion provides valuable insights into overcoming the complexities of DDIL environments.
Presenter: Sayeed Mahmud
National Media Exploitation Center will provide an overview of their current and future AI/ML capabilities used to process, exploit, and enrich data to enable effective discovery, analysis, and dissemination. NMEC will also share their approach to leveraging data science and software reverse engineering capabilities to augment technical exploitation activities to discover data and address high priority intelligence requirements.
Presenters: Shahim Sesay; Reggie Sims Jr.; Kelly Fitzpatrick
Achieving IT superiority is critical to winning and deterring future conflicts. Part of this is ensuring that the right IT infrastructure is in place to support users from headquarters to the tactical edge; and ensuring the right people have the right data, at the right time, in the right location. CIO is exploring how to reduce local warfighters’ dependency on CONUS capabilities with data synchronization and orchestration to edge sites, dedicated to support mission specific applications and data needs. While the technology used to address the disparate use cases may be standard, the needs of the customers themselves are unique and must be well understood to address the enterprise as a whole. This session will (1) discuss CIO’s high-level approach to support data services at all locations – CONUS & OCONUS – and provide some level of data services in a DDIL scenario; (2) obtain industry best practices and lessons learned to address DDIL requirements; and (3) obtain insight from mission users determine their priorities when in a DDIL situation.
Presenter: Robert Bauman, President/CEO, Trusted Systems
Dependence on JWICS is expanding with ever-increasing need for secured remote access, especially for single-seat requirements. Strict adherence to fixed SCIF buildouts for JWICS deployments restricts this expansion, is too expensive, and too inflexible.
This presentation addresses the problems inherent in SCIFs inhibiting expanding JWICS to the Edge. We examine these SCIF shortcomings not securing network equipment nor the user interface to the network. SCIFs only protect the perimeter and the space within. Once inside, cleared personnel have unfettered access, vulnerabilities enabling insider threats.
We explore a revolutionary approach to solving these problems in a modular, self-contained solution based on the same access controlled IPS Container based solution successfully deployed for SIPRNet. The bundled solution surrounds the IPS Container with a single-seat TEMPEST shielded chamber with integral acoustic suppression. This building block approach integrates the combined capabilities into concentric zones of control to ensure seamless defense in depth.
Presenter: Ryan Farr, Senior Associate, Booz Allen Hamilton
The increasing prevalence of cyber threats highlights the critical need for the Department of Defense to have a capable and ready cyber workforce. Developing such a workforce involves a multi-disciplinary approach across policy, program development, strategy, data analytics, and data science that will drive innovation and development across the cyber workforce.
This presentation will provide information on Booz Allen’s efforts in support of the DoD CIO by leveraging the Cyber Workforce Strategy Implementation Plan, DoD Cyber Workforce Framework, DoD 8140 Cyberspace Workforce Management and Qualification Program, Academic Outreach, and Cyber Excepted Service.
Through targeted initiatives, investment in personnel, and a commitment to continuous development activities, we can build and sustain an agile, capable, and ready cyber workforce.
Presenters: Olusegun “SJ” Jegede, Major, USAF, D.Eng; David Jacques
In the current global security landscape, accurately identifying terrorist groups based on attack characteristics is vital for enhancing counterterrorism strategies and policy development. The overarching aim of this study is to develop Artificial Intelligence (AI) models to improve the identification of terrorist groups using data from the Global Terrorism Database (GTD) from 1970 to 2020. The study employed Logistic Regression, Decision Tree, and Random Forest classifiers and emphasized the interpretability of the Random Forest model through SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP) and Local Interpretable Model-agnostic Explanations (LIME) techniques. The Random Forest model achieved a remarkable accuracy of 97%, with macro and weighted averages for precision, recall, and F1-score at 94%, 95%, and 94%, respectively. Our findings reveal that incorporating dynamic behavioral patterns, such as changes in attack frequency and target types over time, does not significantly enhance prediction accuracy but does improve model interpretability. Our research bridges the gap between advanced machine learning algorithms and practical applications, offering transparent and reliable predictive models to support counterterrorism efforts. Integrating explainable artificial intelligence (XAI) techniques ensures that the models are accurate and understandable to counterterrorism analysts and policymakers, thus fostering trust and operational effectiveness in high-stakes environments. The study results underscore the importance of combining robust predictive modeling with interpretability to improve national and global security.
Keywords: Counterterrorism Analytics, Terrorist Group Identification, Explainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI), Global Terrorism Database (GTD), Predictive Model Transparency, SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP) and Local Interpretable Model-agnostic Explanations (LIME).
Presenter: Rik Popat
DIA’s cloud service offerings are requirement-driven and constantly evolving to meet the demands of the most forefront and essential missions. DIA’s commercial cloud capabilities are offered across the Unclassified (IL5), Secret (IL6), and Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI) networks and are a core enabler of IT capabilities at DIA. DIA is moving towards adopting additional cloud service providers, which comes with the need for additional management and governance capabilities, improved integration of zero-trust security, and an evolution of architecture to manage multiple cloud service providers and on-prem deployments. This session will cover progress being made in adopting additional cloud service providers, controlling costs while maximizing benefits (FinOps), enabling resilient architectures, and stakeholder engagement.
Moderator: Deanna French, DIA
Panelists: Dr. Adele Merritt, IC CIO; Jennifer Kron, NSA Deputy CIO; Elcides Dinch-McKnight, DIA; Katie Lipps, DIA
CIO is fostering a growth mindset to drive organizational change in culture and structure by making a concerted effort to develop and promote leaders from within and to fully utilize the talents of executive women for more diverse leadership. Addressing barriers and challenges experienced from various types of discrimination and bias based on the intersection of gender, race, and other personal characteristics. CIO Women in STEM showcases a panel of women leaders who share their experiences and successful strategies to advance their careers at DIA-CIO. A key to success for women to achieve Senior Executive Levels at CIO is allyship and advocacy. According to research and organizational best practices, inclusive behaviors and communication patterns from all employees and leaders create inclusive organizational cultural change. This breakout group will encompass a panel of DIA women from around the IT career field enterprise with a senior executive moderator asking questions about to the panelist of their experiences progressing through the management levels at DIA. The panel will also take audience questions on the topic.
Presenter: Darnette McCleary
Private information retrieval (PIR) is a protocol that allows a user to retrieve data from a provider in possession of a database without revealing which item is retrieved, and it is finally coming closer to reality for large datasets. PIR solutions have existed since 1997, but tend to break down as datasets grow, until recent work by NSA. Beyond the protocol, PIR can facilitate better data sharing and blind collaboration between partners across the federal government and industry opening new ways to alert and inform about potential adversarial activity and impacts.
Presenter: Stephen Kensinger
DIA has made strides in its journey to adopt a Zero Trust security model for the Enterprise. In this session we will discuss the current DIA Zero Trust vision and roadmap, stakeholders and governance structures, and evolving core cyber services. We will also highlight how machine learning and automation will support streamlining the Risk Management Framework (RMF) process to enable faster and more effective authorization of Zero Trust-enable systems. Finally, we will explore how Zero Trust has enabled DIA to enhance its mission capabilities, performance, and efficiency, while reducing its risk exposure and compliance burden.
Presenter: Dr. Liza Briggs
A recent high-profile case raised questions about what motivates a person, who holds a security clearance, to share classified information on an on-line gaming platform. People ask, “Who are these people? Shouldn’t they know better? What are we missing? How do we ensure IT superiority in environments where gaming has become ubiquitous?” and “Why are there disconnects between gaming behaviors and IT security values?”
This presentation examines these questions and presents emerging research about risk vectors associated with on-line gaming. The presentation is designed to engage the audience and provide (1) information and awareness about on-line gamers and security risks associated with gaming activities. A second goal is to (2) present information in an open-ended way that leads to informal follow-on discussions, conversations, and further research and policies on this topic.
Presenters: Tim Bosford and Eric Cohen, Ntrepid LLC
The importance and value of collecting open source intelligence (OSINT) has grown immensely over the last several years. When US Government researchers are performing OSINT, it’s important that their identities and the ultimate purpose of their browsing is not revealed. This is the process of managed attribution.
What are the consequences of not effectively managing your online attribution? For one threat actor, poor operational security (OPSEC) exposed their social media accounts, relatives, and true identity. Ntrepid will present a case study where we show what happens when you don’t use operational best practices when performing OSINT collection.
The objective of this presentation is to demonstrate how these threat actors are using various social media platforms and how to use best research practices against them. Our team will show several methods of analyzing open-source information on the surface and deep web to create a more complete picture of a research target, gaining insights into who they really are and who might be part of their greater network. We’ll review search engine techniques, social media analysis methods, and ways to leverage the latest technology to reduce your technical and behavioral indicators while performing OSINT research.
Presenters: LTC John Hall; Alee Long
Join us for an insightful presentation on the overview and role of DISA’s Joint Warfighting Cloud Capability (JWCC). This session will explain JWCC’s purpose, structure, and services while also outlining some of the lessons learned and tips for organizations looking to start their cloud journey and leverage cloud services to gain a decisive edge. We will discuss the current progress of the JWCC program after almost 2 years and also some of the future initiatives for the program based on feedback from the community. Finally, we cover some of the work that the JWCC program office has undertaken with other Government cloud organizations in order to provide more efficient and effective cloud services to our Mission Partners.
Presenter: Andrew Evans
As the DOD enters one of the most Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, and Ambiguous (VUCA) operating environments since the Second World War, it is imperative now more than ever that the Army/DoD at large deliberately and sustainably modernizes its intelligence capabilities to fulfill a variety of requirements and mission taskings. Transitioning from an Army traditionally positioned towards Counterterrorism/counterinsurgency operations to near peer adversaries will take the collective efforts of capability developers, requirement writers, government, and industry to achieve horizontal integration of intel capabilities into sustaining program of records.
The underlying process is complex but the HQDA-G2 ISR Task Force has distilled 11 considerations necessary to understand how the Army intends to achieve horizontal integration of intelligence capabilities. The 11 key considerations or “P’s” are as follows: 1. Platforms 2. Payloads 3. PED 4. Predictive Analysis 5. Proliferation of Data 6. Practical Training 7. Protection 8. Programming/Policy 9. Pathfinding on Difficult Problem sets 10. People 11. Partnerships
The intended presentation will delve a little deeper into these 11 “P’s” as a vehicle for strategizing and encapsulating sustainable intelligence modernization.
This process and these considerations are necessary to address the security environment in which the United States/DoD currently finds itself as well as how to meet the threat we may face in full kinetic conflict with a near-peer/peripheral adversarial.
Presenter: Kathy Bukolt
The Machine-assisted Analytic Rapid-repository System (MARS) is DIA’s program of record to not just replace the Modernized Integrated Database (MIDB) system developed in the 1990s, but to revolutionize how authoritative foundational military intelligence (FMI) can be leveraged for and by intelligence analysts, collectors, and decision makers. The presentation will address how DIA is developing MARS as a flexible and scalable data ecosystem with robust access controls and rigorous digital policy enforcement to protect information while making FMI shareable at machine speed and breaking down data silos with modern application programming interfaces and interoperable standards.
Moderator: Ramesh Menon
Panelists: William Streilein, MIT/Lincoln Labs; Dr. Qing Wu, Air Force Research Lab; Andrew Brooks, CDAO
Ensuring interpretability and transparency of artificial intelligence (AI) is crucial for accountability, trust, and regulatory compliance. Transparency frameworks aim to make AI processes more visible and understandable to its governing body. This includes disclosing training data, model architecture, and decision criteria that ensures stakeholders can appropriately assess fairness, bias, and risk. As the Department of Defense (DoD) and Intelligence Community (IC) continues to move forward with AI implementation, it is imperative that agencies are able to audit AI for security vulnerabilities, debug and optimize AI algorithms, and enhance cyber defenses. This 3-person panel will delve into how the concept of interpretability and transparency ensures decision-making criteria are comprehensive, how to enhance trust in AI-driven defense strategies, how to balance interpretability with performance, and how to develop a standardized transparency framework that address diverse AI applications while protecting sensitive information.
Presenter: Dr. Terrell Tarver
In today’s dynamic digital realm, the essence of IT superiority transcends mere technical acumen; it hinges on empowering individuals to navigate complexities and catalyze meaningful change. I am thrilled to propose a presentation that aligns seamlessly with the overarching theme of the DoDIIS Worldwide Conference, offering a fresh perspective on enriching the dialogue surrounding IT leadership.
My presentation, “Navigating the Nexus: Uniting Technology and Humanity in IT Leadership,” will offer a multifaceted exploration of how integrating both technological innovation and human development can foster a truly transformative IT landscape.
Through three key pillars, my presentation will:
1. Artificial Intelligence Unleashed: Dive into the transformative potential of AI while emphasizing the crucial mindset shifts needed for individuals to embrace it as a catalyst for personal and professional growth.
2. Innovation Culture: From Concept to Reality: Showcase practical strategies for cultivating an innovation-centric environment within IT teams, emphasizing continuous learning and adaptability for personal and organizational advancement.
3. Security Beyond the Code: Unveil the human element of cybersecurity, discussing the pivotal role of awareness, ethics, and emotional intelligence in augmenting technical safeguards.
By intertwining technical insights with narratives of personal development, my presentation aims to equip attendees with a holistic skill set to thrive in the intricate IT ecosystem. Furthermore, my dynamic speaking style fosters engagement and interaction, ensuring that participants leave not just informed but inspired to drive positive change in their professional journeys.
Join me in exploring the nexus where technology and humanity converge, propelling IT leadership to unprecedented heights of innovation and impact. Together, let’s chart the course for a future where empowerment and development are the cornerstones of IT excellence.
Presenters: John Boska; Jonathan Abolins
Consistent with the theme of Integrated Deterrence through IT Superiority, DIA’s Capability Delivery Pipeline encompasses a suite of tools, services, and capabilities that are used to provide IT services, data, and computing capabilities to warfighters, decision makers, and mission owners across the Defense Intelligence Enterprise. CDP is a secure and efficient software factory which provides streamlined application development, testing, and production capabilities. CDP’s capabilities span across DIA’s Unclassified (IL5), Secret (IL6), and Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI) networks and enables parity of IT services and applications across all three networks. CDP aims to streamline the Authority to Operate (ATO) process, incentivize continuous integration and delivery (CI/CD), and abstract much of the overhead that comes with developing and deploying applications such as security, governance, and hosting. Ultimately, CDP empowers DIA to accelerate the delivery of IT tools, services, and data to obtain a competitive advantage against our adversaries.
Presenter: Roman Gonzales, Distinguished Senior Systems Engineer, Veeam Software
Join us for an in-depth session where we dive into the findings of the FBI’s 2023 Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) Report. This report reveals a significant rise in cybercrime incidents across the United States, including a troubling increase in private data exposure cases involving U.S. government entities—from 74 cases in 2022 to 100 in 2023. These breaches have impacted approximately 15 million individuals. Furthermore, the financial toll of cybercrime in the U.S. has hit a record high, with reported losses reaching $12.5 billion.
Presenter: Shane Shaneman, Senior AI Strategist – Public Sector, NVIDIA
The Department of Defense (DoD) stands at a pivotal juncture where the rapid integration of cutting-edge technologies is not just advantageous but essential for maintaining global strategic dominance. Among these technologies, Generative Artificial Intelligence (Gen AI) emerges as a transformative force, promising to revolutionize defense capabilities through unprecedented advancements in data synthesis, predictive analytics, and autonomous systems. This abstract outlines the DoD’s strategic imperative to adopt and accelerate Gen AI, emphasizing its potential to significantly enhance situational awareness, decision-making processes, and operational efficiencies that are critical to national security.
Gen AI offers transformative potential by automating complex data analysis, generating high-fidelity simulations, and augmenting personnel. Generative AI enhances decision-making and knowledge management by enabling advanced semantic search functionalities. This allows DoD leaders to uncover strategic insights and correlations from the vast volumes of data they are inundated with daily. By leveraging these capabilities, decision-makers can achieve a comprehensive understanding of the operational landscape, predict adversarial actions, and respond with unprecedented precision and speed. The adoption of Generative AI is not merely an enhancement but a strategic imperative for the DoD. It ensures that the United States maintains its technological edge, operational effectiveness, and decision superiority in an increasingly complex and data-driven world.
This presentation will be targeting DoD leaders, decision makers, and managers and will provide an objective overview of Generative AI capabilities today as well as future developments that will be strategically important to the DoD mission. Next, the presentation will outline a comprehensive roadmap for Gen AI integration by the DoD – highlighting key milestones, initiatives, and collaborative efforts to accelerate the transformative impact of Gen AI across the DoD.
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Presenters: Kelley Artz; James Crow; Tom Smith; Pierre Williams
Economic and industrial espionage against the United States continues to represent a significant threat to America’s prosperity, security, and competitive advantage. Supply Chain Risk Management is one of the most significant priorities to ensure whole-of-government security — especially when it comes to contracting.
GSA’s Federal Acquisition Service’s subject matter experts are at the forefront of policy implementation and using zero trust to overcome emerging cybersecurity and supply chain challenges, as well as guidance on how to prepare your agency for evolving threats in these areas. FAS’s Office of Policy and Compliance and the Information Technology Category experts will provide insights on the SECURE Act and executive order 14028; dive into the proposed SCRM regulations and policies impacting the federal government; and share best use cases for finding and mitigating risks.
Attendees will also learn about the forthcoming Supply Chain Risk Illumination Professional Tools and Services (SCRIPTS) blanket purchase agreement (BPA), which was created for DoD, military customers, and civilian federal agencies who need technology solutions for both classified and unclassified contracting needs. Through the SCRIPTS BPA federal agencies will have the ability to quickly acquire third party commercial tools that will provide invaluable insights to identify and mitigate supply chain risk across their ecosystem.
Presenter: Lee Koepping, VP, Global Sales Engineering, ScienceLogic
In the rapidly evolving landscape of Information Technology Operations (ITOps), generative AI is emerging as a revolutionary force capable of transforming enterprise systems and enhancing operational efficiencies. This presentation delves into the application of generative AI within ITOps, highlighting its potential to redefine enterprise monitoring, automate workflows, and provide unprecedented IT service visibility.
Key Points:
Conclusion:
Generative AI is not just a technological advancement; it is a strategic enabler for the Intelligence Community, providing tools that enhance operational capabilities and resilience. As we navigate through uncharted territories in IT operations, embracing generative AI will be pivotal in maintaining a competitive edge and achieving operational excellence.
Join us to explore how generative AI is set to revolutionize ITOps and empower the Intelligence Community with cutting-edge solutions for the challenges of tomorrow.
Presenter: Deborah Melancon
Introduction to DIA provides small businesses information on interacting with DIA, an overview of DIA’s small business goals, how to do business with DIA (the basics), programs such as 8(a), Mentor Protégé Program, where to find opportunities, upcoming conferences, and events. We are teaming up with our NeedipeDIA partners this year as well. The Co-Speaker is from FCI (NeedipeDIA).
Presenter: Dave Robinson
Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) is a vital element of cybersecurity and is mandated through Executive Order and National Security Memoranda on all National Security Systems. MFA solutions should provide all users with comparable levels of security and ease of use, but the most commonly implemented solutions do not address the needs of all people with disabilities. The National Security Agency has investigated and implemented blind/low-vision MFA on classified networks.
Presenters: Shaun Jones, Platform Executive Director, TrustStack Software Factory; James Hunt, Platform CISO, TrustStack Software Factory
This topic will explore the evolving role of software factories in the defense sector, highlighting their impact on the rapid development and deployment of secure software solutions. We will discuss the operational framework of software factories, including automated build and test environments, as well as the integration of advanced technologies like machine learning and cloud computing. The session will also cover the strategic benefits of software factories, such as increased agility, better quality control, and enhanced collaboration across project teams. Looking forward, we will consider the future trajectory of software factories, including potential challenges and opportunities in scaling these operations to meet the growing demands of national defense.
Presenters: Dr. Heather Martin, NGA; Nick Steshko, NGA
The last few years have seen explosive growth in both private-sector AI capability and in available data within the IC. Accelerating progress into AI is a national security imperative, as international competition continues to grow in the technological and information spaces. The DoD Joint All-Domain Command and Control (JADC2) identifies areas of government AI investments that will reshape the information and intelligence landscape, deterring adversary aggression and preparing the United States to prevail in conflict. Aligned to this effort are IC investments in computer and frontier AI models that will dramatically expand IC mission capability for providing advanced Indicators and Warnings, and strategic decision advantage, to both the warfighter and decision maker. NGA, as the leader in GEOINT for the IC and DoD, has leveraged its skill and foresight in GEOINT AI to ready itself and the GEOINT community for this coming transformation. NGA’s AI Strategy emphasizes the importance of accelerating transformation of the GEOINT AI Enterprise through synchronized collaboration with private, academic, and NSG/ASG mission partners, the role NGA has in providing Leadership in GEOINT AI standards and policy, how it is investing in Tasking, Collection, Processing, Exploitation and Dissemination capabilities in coordination with mission partners, and fostering common capabilities across the IC/DoD.
Moderator: Rhonda Brunelle, Deputy Division Chief
Panelists: Elsie Dinch-McKnight, Technical Director; Jojo Leasiolagi, Network Architect; Derek Morasch, Mobility Design Lead
The panel of experts will share lessons learned on implementing modernized network designs and principles, specifically focusing on the integration of these into a legacy environment. Come join some of DIA’s leading network engineers in this technical discussion.
Presenter: Cynthia Turner
Consistent with the theme of Integrated Deterrence through IT Superiority, this session will focus on the increasing use of AI technologies to improve IT accessibility throughout the IC community. DIA’s 508 IT Accessibility PMO will share their approach to leveraging mobile computing and automatic speech recognition to drive artificial intelligence/machine learning integration for enhanced collaboration and bridge IT accessibility disparities.
Presenters: Catherine Hall, Principal Solutions Architect and Sovang Widomski, Senior Solutions Architect, Amazon Web Services
Through customer feedback and deployments, AWS has gained more insight into how organizations are moving forward with Zero Trust architectures guided by NSM-8, NIST, CISA, and other guiding resources for different use cases. U.S. agencies are proceeding toward NSM-8 compliance at an enterprise level, but where does that leave individual development teams? In this session, AWS solutions architects Cat Hall and Sovang Widomski discuss several common challenges that early adopters of Zero Trust encounter. The session provides recommendations for how agencies can leverage policy, processes, and services to support bottom-up progress for development teams that are ready to achieve greater maturity sooner than the enterprise.
Presenters: Dr. Craig Dudley; Nathaniel Mendez; Jeffrey Gold
As the volume of data continues to increase in the public domain (both commercial and open-source data), our intelligence enterprise is not properly equipped to ingest and analyze this data at scale and quickly make sense of it. USAFRICOM’s PROJECT HIGSON proposes leveraging Artificial Intelligence (AI) to aggregate and associate all analytically relevant data to illuminate the “what is happening” part of priority intelligence problems. These aggregations pursue objective truth in a continuous and constant comparative methodology across a variety of data sources which are ingested and stored in a foundational data layer. This collection and resolving of evidence will provide the analysts the objective truth from which they can identify trends, topics, and areas of interest more easily, thereby spending their limited time performing analysis, considering potential courses of actions and interventions, and engaging with partners. Vast amounts of valuable data and relationships arise in the open domain, providing both an unprecedented opportunity to enhance intelligence but also imposing a potential burden on analysts who could be overwhelmed by the sea of noisy and inconsistent data, where connections exist but may be difficult for humans to discover from data at scale without AI-enabled capabilities for knowledge discovery.
Presenters: Josh White; Jon Ortega
Software is key to almost every NGA mission, which means NGA must provide its developers with the best tools to build, release, and operate software securely at the speed of mission. NGA’s Common Operations Release Environment (CORE) seeks to answer that requirement by providing a shared environment with a collection of integrated development and operational services for teams inside and outside of NGA. The beginning of CORE dates back to 2016, when NGA first delivered a modern Platform-as-a-Service for teams to build on. The capabilities grew over the years. Today’s version of CORE gives software development teams a common toolset to build software more reliably, efficiently, and securely on all domains. CORE currently has seven service offerings—DevSecOps, Platform-as-a-Service, Application Programming Interface Management, Developer Experience, Continuous Monitoring, Workflow Orchestration, and Messaging. This presentation will provide an overview of CORE services and how adoption of the CORE is facilitating fulfillment of the NGA Software Way strategy and give some examples of mission capabilities delivered to operations through the CORE. The presentation will also highlight how Slim GEOINT Information Management Services (Slim GIMS) is the enterprise application for submission of GEOINT information needs and associated requirements at the theater level allowing users to quickly and intuitively request products from the full range of GEOINT collection capabilities and services available in GIMS.
Presented by: Dr. Matthew Johnson, CDAO; CDR Michael Hanna, ONI
The Deputy Secretary of Defense has said that Responsible AI is how we will win with regard to strategic competition, ‘not in spite of our values, but because of them’…but what does this actually mean? This presentation introduces the DoD’s work to operationalize this approach, showing how Responsible AI sustains our tactical edge. The presentation provides a deep dive into a key piece of the DoD’s approach to Responsible AI: the Responsible AI Toolkit. The Toolkit is a voluntary process through which AI projects can identify, track, and mitigate RAI-related issues (and capitalize on RAI-related opportunities for innovation) via the use of tailorable and modular assessments, tools, and artifacts. The Toolkit rests on the twin pillars of the SHIELD Assessment and the Defense AI Guide on Risk (DAGR), which holistically address AI risk. The Toolkit enables risk management, traceability, and assurance of responsible AI practice, development, and use.
Presented by: Mr. Bharat Patel, Army PEO IEW&S
To achieve its AI development goals, the DoD needs to partner with industry and academia in a manner that it has not before. This requires a match of innovation spaces (Industry) to deliver AI models to DoD mission spaces. There are technical challenges here, but also acquisition and policy challenges as we need a new model for interacting to make this a reality.
Moderator: Ms. Jennifer Hay, DDS
Panelists: Ms. Erika Bauer, DDS; Mr. Aaron Salmon, DDS; Ms. Rebecca Cellarius, DDS
Technology is not automatically accepted by users if it is difficult or confusing to interface with. DDS will discuss the concepts behind a superior user experience research and design process that enables increased adoption of new technologies like data analytics and AI.
Moderator: Dr. Craig Martell, CDAO
Panelists:: Mr. Duncan McCaskill, Navy; Mr. David Markowitz, Army; Mr. George Forbes, USAF
Panel discussion, led by Dr Martel with the MILDEP CDOs, regarding the service perspectives and operational approaches.
Moderator: Ms. Raffianne Doyle, CDAO
Speakers: Dr. Rob Liu, Navy; Mr. Daniel Andrew, Army
This session will provide an overview of the data integration layer (DIL), including the purpose in providing ubiquitous access to DoD data and the necessary cultural, procedural and technical change that has to occur to achieve it.
Moderator: Mr. Peter Teague, CDAO
Panelists: Mr. Jon Elliott, CDAO; Dr. Shannon Gallagher, CMU SEI; Dr. Catherine Crawford, IBM, Mr. Shiraz Zaman, Nand AI
A key problem with leveraging AI is understanding how it will integrate with existing workflows. I push this notion of understanding human parity in a given task so that we know what to expect when the model is deployed – i.e., we have performance parameters determined. However, with comprehensive capabilities, like LLMs, there may be multiple steps in a workflow that get replaced and we need to understand the impact of this.
Moderator: Ms. Rebecca King, CDAO
Panelists: Ms. Rachel Martin, NGA; Dr. Amy Soller, AI Lead for Capabilities at the DoD; Mr. Ramesh Menon, DIA
The DoD Combat Support Agencies work across boundaries to support both the IC and Warfighters. This talk will provide a high-level overview of the current challenges Combat Support Agencies face to achieving decision advantage.
Moderator: Ms. Jinyoung Englund, CDAO
Panelists: Mr. William Chan, CDAO; Ms. Katya Volkovska, CDAO; Mr. Jon Elliott, CDAO; LtCol Pedro Ortiz, PhD, U.S. Marine
How do we get to a data-driven and AI-enabled Department? How do we ensure our warfighters are enabled to successfully deter in any domain, and if necessary, decisively win in any conflict? Discover how shared investments can unlock economies of scale as we drive towards a collaborative data empowerment for a more responsible, inclusive, and efficient AI landscape.
Presented by: Dr. Michael Foster, USCENTCOM
Mission Command applications are the class of software products that allow automation of Battle Management, Command and Control functions for Strategic and Operational commanders. This session will highlight the capability of the currently fielded applications and identify where gaps exist in the process.
Presented by: Ms. Hillary Jett, CDAO; Mr. Jackson Perry, CDAO; Mr. Mitchell Fiedler, CDAO
As CDAO looks ahead, it discusses the strategy, opportunities and challenges for enabling the DoD to become more self-sufficient in solving their own data and analytic needs. Learn more about how CDAO intends to partner with customers to ensure they are connected to the full suite of CDAO service offerings that meet their needs.
Moderator: LtCol Jeffrey Wong, CDAO
Panelists: Dr. Kathleen Fisher, DARPA; Dr. Andrew Moore, Lovelace AI; Mr. Peter Guerra, Oracle
The rise of LLMs over the past year has accelerated the development of AI and educated the public about the potential of this powerful technology. It has also flagged some of the problems inherent in complex, data-centric systems, to the point where many noted data scientists have questioned the wisdom of progressing too fast. What have LLMs taught us about the future of AI? How does this technology change the trajectory or expectation of new technology development?
Moderator: Dr. Diana Gehlhaus, Special Competitive Studies Project
Panelists: Ms. Jennifer Schofield, DAIM; Rear Adm. Alexis Walker, NRC; MajGen William Bowers, MCRC
The question is not whether DoD needs digital talent, but rather how to get it, grow it, keep it—and how to use it most effectively. We’ll discuss the challenges facing DoD, including those systemic to the entire tech ecosystem, as well as those unique to DoD. We’ll explore ideas for addressing these challenges, and debate their pros, cons, and feasibility. There is no easy answer, but we’ll come away with a better sense of the options and trade space available to DoD.
Moderator: Mr. Brynt Parmeter, OUSD-P&R
Panelists: Mr. Michael Brasseur, Saab; Mr. Thom Kenney, Google; Mr. Mike Mattarock, CMUSEI; LTC Michael Michell, AI2C
Attracting and retaining skilled professionals proficient in AI has become a critical challenge for organizations worldwide. This panel will examine the strategies, insights, and innovative approaches drawn from industry experiences to effectively recruit and retain AI talent. We will explore case studies, best practices, and lessons learned from leading companies that have successfully navigated the complexities of talent acquisition and retention in the dynamic landscape of AI.
Moderator: Dr. Bill Streilein, CDAO
Panelists: Dr. Matthew Turek, DARPA; Dr. Nikhil Krishnan, C3 AI
The military’s and intelligence community’s experimental divisions will discuss where development of data, AI, and analytics will take us next.
Moderator: Dr. Abby Fanlo, CDAO
Panelists: Dr. David Barnes, Army; Mr. Bryce Goodman, DIU; Ms. Michaela Mesquite, ODNI
In 2020, the DoD became the world’s first military to adopt AI Ethical Principles, and the same year, the IC adopted its Principles of AI Ethics. But how are the DoD and IC putting these high level principles into practice, throughout their various operations and throughout the AI lifecycle? This panel will explore that question, through discussions with DoD components, including CDAO, Army, and the Defense Innovation Unit, as well as ODNI.
Presented by: Col Matthew “Nomad” Strohmeyer, CDAO
This session will discuss “Accelerating CJADC2 Through Experimentation.”
Moderator: Dr. Abby Fanlo, CDAO
Panelists: Mr. Neeraj Chandra, USAF; Dr. Billie Rinaldi, Microsoft
Discussion of the ethical challenges associated with developing and using LLMs in the national security context, including concerns related to bias, hallucination, and interpretability, and how those challenges differ from ethical challenges associated with traditional AI. The session will also touch on opportunities for industry and government to work together to advance the ethical use of LLMs.
Presented by: Mr. Andrew Brooks, CDAO; Ms. Rachel Rajaseelan, CDAO; Ms. Heather MacDonald, Deloitte; Dr. Stuart Battersby, Chatterbox Labs
CDAO is developing a number of tools included in the RAI Toolkit in order to provide Enterprise users custom solutions for developing and employing AI in a responsible and ethical manner. This workshop will give attendees a detailed look into several of these tools–including Data and Model Cards, the AI Model Insights (AIMI) platform, and Executive Dashboards–so they can see how they work and how they could be incorporated into future workflows.
Presented by: Dr. Celso de Melo, IPB
This talk will highlight research challenges cutting across Army, Navy, and Air Force use cases for large pre-trained models. These include research on multimodal models, knowledge distillation for deployment at the edge, continual learning, model composition, advanced reasoning capability, among others. We will also argue for a multi-tiered DoD compute infrastructure for AI R&D.
Presented by: Dr. Kimberly Sablon, OUSD(R&E)
In an effort to address disparate silo’d activities across the S&T community and help innovation to surmount the technology ‘valley of death’, OUSD R&E has begun to establish community hubs for researchers to work together on key mission challenges in a collaborative way. This talk will provide an overview the vision behind the R&E modality and domain hubs and provide status on their instantiation progress.
Presented by: Mr. Jon Elliott, CDAO
CDAO will share their lessons learned from testing critical AI systems, such as the measurement of data drift, testing of AI integration with legacy systems, and continuous testing. They will also provide with their insights on AI test and evaluation moving forward, including avenues for industry and DoD collaboration.
Moderator: Mr. David Jin, CDAO
Panelists: Dr. Beat Buesser, IBM; Dr. Nathan VanHoudnos, CMU SEI; Mr. Alvaro Velasquez, DARPA
As DoD systems become integrated with AI and autonomy capabilities, the question of novel attack surfaces and vulnerabilities arises. While adversarial AI has become a topic of great interest in recent years, much of the existing work within the field of adversarial AI has been done within academia and research.
This panel discussion will bring together DoD adversarial AI experts to discuss the realistic application of adversarial AI on the DoD’s AI-enabled capabilities.
Presented by: Mr. Jackson Perry, CDAO; MAJ Alexander Kline, CDAO; COL Sean McGee, Joint Staff J35
Join CDAO on a journey through the past, present and future goals of how to use data and analytic products to support incidents around the world.
Presented by: Ms. Rebecca Norfolk, CDAO; Dr. Jennifer Cowley, CDAO; Ms. Annaelizabeth Nichols, CDAO
Small businesses often find doing business with the DoD to be difficult and not conducive to their business models. CDAO is revolutionizing how the Department of Defense is engaging with Small Business through the CDAO acquisition ecosystem and CTO’s technical engagements. The discussion will educate about the CDAO’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program and other Acquisition tools and vehicles.
Moderator: Dr. Robert Houston, CDAO
Panelists: Mr. Evan Jones, UMD ARLIS ; Mr. Yosef Razin, IDA; Ms. Amber Mills, JHU-APL
This panel emphasizes the importance of Human Systems Integration (HSI) Test and Evaluation (T&E) throughout the lifecycle of an AI-enabled system, advocating for its implementation early, often, and always. Traditional HSI T&E data is usually captured through discrete experiments, an approach not well-suited for the automated, continuous testing required for AI/ML models. The panel will discuss (1) the challenges in instrumenting HSI-relevant data capture, (2) strategies and methodologies for integrating HSI into automated, real-time testing environments, and (3) innovative measures that utilize real-time user inputs such as search queries, tone of voice, response latency, and sentiment analysis.
Presented by: Mr. Matt Knight, OpenAI
We analyze the present and future impacts of Large Language Models (LLMs) on cybersecurity and cyber operations through both theory and real-world examples. This session will explore how large language models are creating new capabilities and risks for cyber threat actors and defenders alike.
Presented by: Mr. Nick Lanham, CDAO; Lt Col Travis “Wasta” Gomez, USAF
DoD dev activities benefit from direct access to mission data during development efforts. Discussion Questions: What are models for acquiring mission data in a non-interference manor? What are the pros, cons, and best practices for supplementing or replacing mission data with synthetic data? What resources exist to host mission data in test or other dev environments?
Presented by: Mr. Danny Holtzman, CDAO
A collaborative discusion around the challenges associated with Agile authorizations and AI. Outline the opportunities and exemplars. Lead to identification of interest in in participation of a CDAO/Industry AO round table being formed to continue the collaborations.
Moderator: Ms. Margie Palmieri, CDAO
Panelists: Dr. Michael Horowitz, OSD Policy; Lieutenant Colonel Kangmin Kim, ROK Army; Commodore Rachel Singleton, UK, Head, Defence AI Centre; Military Expert 6 Wilson Zhang, Singapore, Deputy Future Systems & Technology Architect
The United States works closely with allies and partners to apply existing international rules and norms and develop a common set of understandings among nations guiding the responsible use of AI in defense. This panel provides the opportunity to promote order and stability in the midst of global technological change. The United States has been a global leader in responsible military use of AI and autonomy, with the Department of Defense championing ethical principles and policies on AI and autonomy for over a decade. Among various national and international efforts, the United States, together with 46 nations, endorsed the Political Declaration on Responsible Military Use of Artificial Intelligence and Autonomy in November 2023, providing a normative framework addressing the use of these capabilities in the military domain. Given the significance of responsible AI in defense and the importance of addressing risks and concerns globally, the internationally focused session at the Symposium will be focused on these critical global efforts to adopt and implement responsible AI in defense. This panel will provide various country perspectives on the development, adoption, and implementation of principles and good practices on responsible AI, including multilateral efforts related to the Political Declaration on the Responsible Military Use of Artificial Intelligence and Autonomy.
LLM Maturity Models
Dr. David Talby, John Snow Labs (1015-1040)
Ms. Ashley Gray, Parsons (1040-1105)
Dr. Srini Ramaswamy, iWorks (1105-1130)
Workflow/System Integration of Maturity and Community Discussion
Mr. Bill Chappell, Microsoft (1130-1155)
Workflow/System Integration of Maturity
Dr. Scott Papson, AWS
Maturity Model Validation and Use Case Exploration
Dr. Vikrant Kobla, BlueHalo (1530-1555)
Dr. Lei Yu, Expression (1555-1620)
Dr. Derek Doran, Tenet 3 (1620-1645)
This workshop is a series of industry and government presentations of selected LLM use cases. The creators will present their case and then discuss with the audience. The goal is to begin to develop acceptability criteria that will be presented on the last day of the symposium.
Presented by: Mr. Cody Ferguson, OSD; MAJ Mackenzie Cohe, DTRA; Mr. William Chan, CDAO
To maximize mission impact and ROI, the DoD needs to increase the access and exchange of data across the Components, theaters, and domains. Discussion Questions: How can DoD SMEs and industry identify the right specifications to standardize the creation and deployment of increased API endpoint services across the diversity of DoD data types and mission domains? What are best practices in creating flexible, resilient, future proofing API services? What is the right documentation and reference resources to support API services?
Moderator: Ms. Angela Cough, CDAO
Panelists: Mr. James Ryseff, RAND; Brig Gen Michael McGinley, AFRL; Dr. Gregory Bernard, NSIN
DoD needs to take a flexible approach to digital personnel, both uniformed and civilian, to take full advantage of the available digital talent pool. This conversation will explore the problem and solution spaces of building teams out of different military and civilian components.
Presented by: Ms. Rachel Murphy, CDAO; Mr. Harley Stout, CDAO; Ms. Rosemarie Hirata, ODA&M
What does it mean to have data-driven management, and how does that look in the DoD? In this session, our Business Analytics Directorate will show the capabilities of Pulse and how it has changed DoD management.
Moderator: Mr. Jon Elliot, CDAO
Panelists: Cdre Rachel Singleton, Defence AI Centre; Dr. Bill Streilein, CDAO; Dr. Andrew Moore, Lovelace AI
Discussion of the ethical challenges associated with developing and using LLMs in the national security context, including concerns related to bias, hallucination, and interpretability, and how those challenges differ from ethical challenges associated with traditional AI. The session will also touch on opportunities for industry and government to work together to advance the ethical use of LLMs.
Presented by: Mr. Alex O’Toole, CDAO; Mr. Nick Lanham, CDAO
The DoD data science community collectively and at the Component-level are lacking the appropriate access to sandbox environments and compute resources. Discussion Questions: What is an average or reasonable compute resource allocation for data science use and is there a stratification across experience levels or mission applications? What are the right specifications for data science sandbox environments and where do they exist in the DoD today? Are data science environments best allocated from onprem distributive computing clusters or cloud-based resources?
Moderator: Ms. Jennifer Hay, CDAO
Panel Members: Col Matthew “Nomad” Strohmeyer, CDAO; Col Garry “Pink” Floyd, DAF-MIT; Mr. Chris Lynch, TRMC
DoD needs to take to heart the notion that these technologies are powerful, but we are not sure how to use them. This suggests the DoD should adopt a culture of experimentation that allows exploration all the way to the edge.
Presented by: Ms. Bonnie Evangelista, CDAO; Ms. Stephanie Wilson, ACC, Rock Island; Mr. Jason Caulkins, ACC
This session provides an overview of Other Transaction Authority (OTA) mechanism available to engage small businesses in the procurement of innovative capabilities. The Tradewindai.com portal will be discussed and demonstrated to support the discussion.
Presented by: Mr. John Shulli, CDAO; Mr. Cody Ferguson, OSD
Describe how DoD intends to use the Data Mesh concept of Federated Computational Governance to govern a DoD-wide Data Mesh.
Presented by: CAPT M.X. Lugo, CDAO
LLMs are an imperfect tool that has incredible potential but also self-evident shortcomings. Leaders, Industry and scientists must weigh the benefits and risks when deciding how to use this technology. This session is a kickoff to the conference-long LLM track of the symposium and highly recommended for all LLM workshop participants.
Moderator: Ms. Jinyoung Englund, CDAO
Panelists: Lt Col Travis “Wasta” Gomez, USAF; CAPT Jeff Anderson, USN
Time is of the essence to deliver AI-enabled and data-driven decision-making capabilities to the warfighter. In order to win, the Department must adopt design thinking and agile software development methodologies. CDAO is paving the way. Hear three TED talks where AW has successfully partnered with the Services to produce use case and user-driven prototypes that inform and shape what CDAO needs to deliver as an enabler of the Department.
Moderator: Frederick Johnson
Panelists: Tom Lam, ODNI; Charles (Chuck) Bellenger, ODNI; James Long, ODNI; Mac Townsend, ODNI
The Offices of the Department of Defense (DoD) Chief Information Officer (CIO) and Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Intelligence Community (IC) CIO are working together to deliver multi cloud services from “core to edge.” This forum will explore and illuminate key community findings and recommendations aimed at accelerating collective OCONUS cloud delivery. Panel discussion will also include the most up to date information regarding ongoing joint activities.
Presenters: Sean Miles, DIA; Stephen Lee, DIA; Adam Matthews, DIA
This presentation will introduce key DIA SCRM Senior Steering Group representatives from: CIO, OCI, OGC, CFO, SEC, and SCRM-PO. Moderated by CIO-SCRM, the Steering Group will lead a practical discussion on systemic supply chain risks and comprehensive risk-assessment reporting to support timely decision-making and risk mitigations. Steering Group members will dissect policies, controls, and processes when requesting DIA Supply Chain Risk Management services. Panel membership will also include a guest external customer – who will provide their perspective on the capacity to navigate DIA SCRM services, and receive ‘DIA SCRM Certs’ to support acquisition & deployment requirements.
Presenter: Ricky Clark, NIH
In May 2021, President Biden issued an executive order to strengthen and improve America’s cybersecurity. Known as “Zero Trust” the order called for federal agencies to wall off information technology (IT) systems behind a secure network perimeter. Two years later, federal agencies are “on the clock” and actively working to integrate Zero Trust architecture into their existing IT environment.
According to a recent report from General Dynamics Information Technology (GDIT), the “Agency Guide to Zero Trust Maturity,” civilian and federal agencies are making progress toward meeting zero trust but continue to face significant challenges in implementation, such as lack of IT expertise, identifying and prioritizing needs and concerns around repairing or rebuilding existing legacy infrastructure.
With a September 2024 deadline looming for compliance, what can agencies do to ensure they are compliant in 2024.
During this session, NIH Information Technology Acquisition and Assessment Center (NITAAC) will explore the barriers agencies face in realizing zero trust and identify solutions that exist within the confines of the NITAAC Government-wide Acquisition Contracts (GWAC)s.
The session will discuss the following:
• Overview of Zero Trust
• Common barriers agencies face
• Practical solutions within the NITAAC GWACs to help overcome them
Presenter: Cory Steer, NSA
As the U.S. Government shifts towards implementing a Zero Trust framework on its information technology systems, it’s essential that ICAM systems are deployed in a robust and defensible posture. Various attacks exist for exploiting existing ICAM technologies and processes. Defining threat models and secure processes for foundational identity and authentication services is critical to support the successful implementation across DoD & IC information systems.
Presenter: John Lee, NGA
Software is key to almost every NGA mission, which means NGA must provide its developers with the best tools to build, release, and operate software securely at the speed of mission. NGA’s Common Operations Release Environment (CORE) seeks to answer that requirement by providing a shared environment with a collection of integrated development and operational services for teams inside and outside of NGA. The beginning of CORE dates back to 2016, when NGA first delivered a modern Platform-as-a-Service for teams to build on. The capabilities grew over the years. Today’s version of CORE gives software development teams a common toolset to build software more reliably, efficiently, and securely on all domains. CORE currently has seven service offerings—DevSecOps, Platform-as-a-Service, API Management, Developer Experience, Continuous Monitoring, Workflow Orchestration, and Messaging—with ML Ops coming soon. This presentation will provide an overview of CORE services and how adoption of the CORE is facilitating fulfillment of the NGA Software Way strategy, as well as give some examples of mission capabilities delivered to operations through the CORE.
Presenter: Liza Briggs, USMC
Emerging technologies rely on a workforce that understands the importance of not only improving technology but also protecting it through actions such as reporting suspicious behaviors and activities. The presentation describes individual behaviors and work culture characteristics indicative of risk and threat from trusted insiders and unpacks reporting versus non-reporting behaviors. The presentation will also address cultural change strategies to build and maintain secure cyber landscapes through deliberate and ongoing engagement with people in ways that support the protection of our rapidly emerging technology spaces.
Presenter: Vanessa Hill, DIA
The ability to keep ahead of our adversaries is only possible with the right people, with the right talent, at the right time. This breakout session will discuss CIO’s Strategic Workforce Planning effort as a strategic investment priority utilizing an integrated repository, with a dynamic user interface, facilitating access to high-quality workforce data to enable accurate forecasting and enhancing decision-making.
Presenter: Graig Baker, DISA
DISA SD43 National Gateway Branch provides a range of assured messaging and directory services to a customer community that includes the Military Services, DoD Agencies, Combatant Commands (CCMD), and Other U.S. Government Agencies (OGA) and the Intelligence Community (IC). DISA is preparing to field the Organizational Messaging Service Java Messaging Service (OMS-JMS), a cutting-edge messaging and directory support solutions and services implementing the IC Message Service (ICMS) XML standard for hi-fidelity message formatting while continuing to support legacy ACP-127/128 gateway connections to provide seamless interoperability across our customer community for the preservation of National Defense. This presentation provides the messaging community an overview of the new DISA OMS-JMS solutions and services which are to begin fielding during FY24.
Presenter: Joshua Stageburg, SolarWinds
As Department of Defense (DoD) agencies work to manage some of the most complex IT environments, some are considering self-driving operations. To achieve full autonomy, agencies must have observability of the tech stack first. In this engaging session, Joshua Stageberg, Product Management lead for SolarWinds SaaS Observability Products, will explore how and why observability is a core tenet of self-driving operations and how it can overcome challenges posed by today’s IT environments.