Pentagon Officials Banking on Zero Trust to Secure Networks

Defense officials are confident the implementation of a zero trust architecture by fiscal year 2027 will not only heighten network protection within the Department of Defense but also deter even the most sophisticated cybercriminals. Zero trust presupposes that networks are jeopardized, and users, devices and access need to be constantly validated. And in the case of the Pentagon’s adoption of the security paradigm, automation is key, C4ISRNET reported.

U.S. Army Cyber Command Commanding General Lt. Gen. Maria Barrett said on Tuesday at the AFCEA TechNet Cyber Conference in Baltimore, Maryland, that the military can make use of artificial intelligence and machine learning to manage complex and intricate military networks. Officials agree on the almost-impossible task of monitoring and protecting potential backdoors from internal and external threats given the enormous amount of data being generated even with zero trust. Barrett said what is important is looking for anomalous data to identify an adversary and doing it in an automated manner.