Tanks, Planes, Ships, and Data: Activating the DOD’s Data Strategy

The battles of tomorrow will likely not be fought on the ground, they will take place in cyberspace as nation-states and rogue actors alike look to interrupt the everyday functions of a country via high-tech attacks. Recently we saw the Russian hack of software, designed (ironically) to help organizations monitor network problems and anomalies, which has the government and private companies scrambling to determine what data was compromised. With cyberspace being the new battlefield, data and data management have quickly become a strategic asset in the DoD arsenal.

Last fall, the DOD released the Department's Data Strategy. An overarching guidance on how they will manage, secure, and use data. This document supports the DOD's transition to "a data-centric organization that uses data at speed and scale for operational advantage and increased efficiency." The Data Strategy includes 7 goals, nicknamed VAULTIS, to becoming data-centric:

1. Make Data Visible - Consumers can locate the needed data.
2. Make Data Accessible - Consumers can retrieve the data.
3. Make Data Understandable - Consumers can recognize the content, context, and applicability.
4. Make Data Linked - Consumers can exploit data elements through innate relationships.
5. Make Data Trustworthy - Consumers can be confident in all aspects of data for decision-making.
6. Make Data Interoperable - Consumers have a common representation/ comprehension of data.
7. Make Data Secure - Consumer data is protected from unauthorized use/manipulation.

The strategy aims to support the further development of DOD's ability to use data to empower warfighters while maintaining a secure cyberspace for the DOD and the nation as a whole. Following this guidance, the department will develop goals, key performance indicators, and enterprise-wide data commandments with the goal of achieving the Data Strategy vision by 2030, if not sooner.

Take a look at just a few of the events and resources designed to help inform and educate those involved in meeting the mission of the Data Strategy.

• Prioritizing Use Cases To Guide Artificial Intelligence (AI) Strategies In The Federal Government (February 24, 2021; webcast) - This panel will explore how agencies can identify specific use cases where AI would return significant benefit, as well as how agencies can best prioritize use cases. Subject matter experts will share their approaches to these questions, best practices, and lessons learned along the way.
• Modernizing the Air Force with Big Data and AI (February 24, 2021; webcast) - Modernizing data architecture can be a struggle. This session provides insight into how the Air Force can turn their data into a strategic asset with a modern approach to analytics in the cloud.
• Defense Readiness Workshop (March 10, 2021; virtual) - This workshop will explore DOD's modernization and transformation initiatives, how they deliver the speed, insight, and security the National Defense Strategy demands, and what it means for warfighters and the personnel who support them.
• NDIA National Security AI Conference and Exhibition (NSAICE) (March 23-25, 2021; virtual) - This event will look at leveraging the pace of innovation in Artificial Intelligence to transform the future of national security and enhance the safety, security, and resiliency of the United States and our allies.
• 3rd DoD Information Warfare Symposium (March 24-25, 2021; Alexandria, VA) - An educational, training "Town Hall" style forum, this event brings together thought leaders and key policy-makers across military services, government agencies, acquisition authorities, academia & industry for actionable discussions and debate on how advances in electronic warfare and cyber technologies are transforming the modern battlefield operations & enhancing joint efforts towards winning the information war.
• Getting it Right: Establishing Uniform Policies for Controlled Unclassified Information (White Paper) - A paper from the INSA Cyber Council, this piece looks at nine key challenges associated with the Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) program.
• Defense Innovation Board: Zero Trust Architecture (ZTA) Recommendations (White Paper) - This paper outlines how the DoD can begin moving toward a zero trust security architecture model for the Non-classified Internet Protocol Router Network (NIPRNet) and the Secret Internet Protocol Router Network (SIPRNet).

Let us know where you are learning about how the DoD will be working toward its Data Strategy vision.

Be sure to check out GovEvents for a complete listing of conferences, virtual events, and webinars, and GovWhitePapers for 1000+ white papers, case studies, and infographics!