The Joint Staff J6 sponsored a second Security Interoperability in the Tactical Environment (SITE) Summit Dec. 14-16, hosted at the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) Headquarters in Maryland.
The three-day event brought together stakeholders from the Department of Defense (DoD), including services, combatant Commands, and defense agencies to further efforts in advancing Zero Trust initiatives. Additionally, underscoring J6's commitment to "Collaborative C2", the SITE Summit expanded participation to include FVEY partner nations - Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom.
Zero Trust is a network security framework requiring all users to be authenticated, authorized, and continuously validated while accessing and using network resources. It is not a product or program but a paradigm shift for the DoD in response to vulnerabilities exposed by high-level breaches. It is also essential to delivering secure, data-centric Joint All-Domain Command and Control (JADC2) capabilities.
Using the DoD Zero Trust Strategy as its foundation, the overarching goal of the SITE Summits is to identify the requirements for interoperability. Participants heard from stakeholders who presented their approaches to tactical Zero Trust implementation. The Summit used breakout sessions to engage in more focused conversations among subject matter experts. The United Kingdom and Australia specifically shared with the forum how their nations are approaching the development of their own Zero Trust frameworks.
One key outcome of the Summit is the collaborative effort between the Joint Staff J6 and the DoD CIO Zero Trust Portfolio Management Office to develop an addendum to the existing Zero Trust Strategy.
Representatives at every level from the Office of the Secretary of Defense to the Joint Staff, Combatant Commands, Combat Support Agencies, and Services, share ideas, synchronize efforts, and establish a united way forward that centers on advancing data security capabilities for the joint warfighter. As the United States military pursues digital modernization and innovation – across departments, services, and countries – it will continue to capitalize on forums like the SITE Summit to promote a shared understanding of how to advance JADC2.
