Ensuring 'Pervasive Connectivity' for Air Force and Space Force Operations
The Department of the Air Force is making a significant push towards ensuring ubiquitous communication, with the same protections applied across every medium. This push leads to a larger emphasis on the supply chain and endpoint device protections, as every new technology, solution, or link in the supply chain introduces new vulnerabilities but also opportunities to apply zero trust principles.
Aaron Bishop, the Chief Information Security Officer of the Department of the Air Force, plays a crucial role in this mission. His responsibilities include ensuring secure communications for the Air Force and the Space Force daily, overseeing more than 180 bases worldwide that function as small cities with housing, hospitals, and critical infrastructure.
From a mobile end user perspective, the department aims to provide the necessary capability, harden it for security, and then connect it into the secure backbone. This backbone is designed to connect a diverse range of endpoints, including tablets, iPads, watches, small screen displays in vehicles, aircraft components, and large displays for satellite command and control.
Data Protection Across Channels and Endpoints
The Air Force and Space Force manage sensitive information on networks such as the Non-secure Internet Protocol Router Network (NIPRNet), Secure Internet Protocol Router Network (SIPRNet), and the Air Force Joint Worldwide Intelligence Communications System (AF JWICS). Stringent access controls and secure communication protocols are essential to safeguard intelligence and operational data across various platforms and endpoints.
Zero Trust Implementation
Zero trust security is emphasized by designing architectures that assume no implicit trust for any user or device, regardless of location. This involves creating security zones (similar to network "neighborhoods") and enforcing strict access controls and identity integration so that every access request is fully authenticated, authorized, and encrypted. For mobile collaboration, this means continuous validation and monitoring of devices and users connecting through multiple networks, which complicates trust assumptions but enhances security posture.
Human-Machine Teaming and Autonomous Platforms
Integration of autonomous collaborative platforms (ACPs) with manned systems increases communication complexity and necessitates secure, real-time data exchange in contested environments. Ensuring secure channels for these systems presents added challenges in protecting sensitive data while reducing pilot workload and maintaining situational awareness.
Challenges
The challenges in securing mobile collaboration are numerous. Managing security across interconnected but varied networks (NIPRNet, SIPRNet, JWICS) with different classification levels requires comprehensive coordination among security program managers and communication squadrons to maintain compliance and securely share intelligence.
Securing diverse endpoints, from aircraft to mobile devices and ground stations, is critical but difficult to uniformly enforce. With increasing cyber threats, zero trust must address risks assuming an attacker may gain access. Implementing mutual authentication, cryptographic agility (e.g., modern protocols like TLS 1.3), and continuous monitoring are necessary to protect mission-critical communication without disrupting operations.
Balancing security and usability is another challenge, especially in high-tempo military environments where rapid collaboration is essential.
In summary, securing mobile collaboration for Air Force and Space Force communications demands a multi-layered approach combining rigorous data protection, zero trust architectures, and adaptive endpoint security across diverse environments to enable secure, reliable communication and mission success in contested settings. The department aims to connect endpoints into an already secure backbone for data transport, rather than creating an end-to-end solution. Bishop ensures safe and secure communications to and from satellites in space, facing a tension between using the newest technology and ensuring network security. The key to securing various communication channels is anticipating changes through zero trust principles.
The Air Force and Space Force are employing zero trust principles to safeguard intelligence and operational data across various platforms and endpoints, including those in space, given the increasing emphasis on space-and-astronomy and the expanding role of technology. To secure data transport on networks like NIPRNet, SIPRNet, and AF JWICS, science plays a crucial part in implementing stringent access controls and secure communication protocols.
In addition to endpoints mentioned earlier, the department is also designing solutions to connect unmanned aerial vehicles, drones, and other autonomous platforms, all of which are susceptible to cyber-attacks and require science and technology to ensure secure data exchanges in contested environments. Aaron Bishop's role in securing communication, from satellites in space to mobile devices on earth, underscores the importance of embracing advancements in science and technology to maintain network security while pushing the boundaries of space-and-astronomy exploration.
