Acting Navy CTO Says Minimum Zero Trust Requirements Met Ahead of Target

The Department of the Navy’s acting chief technology officer said DON has reached “target-level” zero trust goals years ahead of the deadline. 

Justin Fanelli, a past Potomac Officers Club speaker, shared that the Navy met all 91 zero trust targets set by the Department of Defense on its Non-classified Internet Protocol Internet Router. According to Fanelli, the Navy has been working with the Zero Trust Portfolio Management Office to achieve target-level zero trust.

He also shared that the milestone allows the service to innovate much faster, DefenseScoop reported.

Zero trust is a cybersecurity principle that assumes network compromises in all instances and constantly implements user monitoring and authentication. DOD is planning to implement a zero trust architecture by 2027.

Other officials across the Pentagon have shared their insights on zero trust.

Christopher Barnhurst, deputy director at the Defense Information Systems Agency, said in October that DISA wants to adopt zero trust to protect data from cyberthreats. Doug Cossa, chief information officer of the Defense Intelligence Agency, said during POC’s 9th Annual Intelligence Summit in September that breakdowns amid zero trust implementation show that devices subscribed to pre-zero trust standards no longer meet new requirements.