For the Army to reach its goal of data centricity, it first had to address long-standing challenges with disparate and disjointed networks.
It has to reduce the complexity and number of networks commanders relied on to access data to make decisions.
“This is all about how we move data at echelon. Data centricity really comes in three imperatives: One, looking for robust transport across the board. Two, it’s looking for cloud enabled capabilities that we can move data at echelon. And three is moving data on a modern security architecture, which we label as zero trust,” Lt. Gen. Jeth Rey, Army deputy chief of staff, G-6, said during Federal News Network’s DoD Modernization Exchange.
The latest step in this long-term effort is the Army’s Unified Network Plan 2.0, released in early March, which focuses on zero trust principles to further create that data-centric vision.
Army moves to operationalize shift to unified network
“The AUNP 2.0 operationalizes the unified network by focusing on how the Army’s network moves and secures data to outpace our adversaries through multidomain operations (MDO) up to, and including, large-scale combat operations,” the plan states. “AUNP 2.0 represents a fundamental shift from establishing the unified network foundation to enabling data centricity by bringing the global network and common data requirements to theaters, rather than an uneven federation of networks and standards across theaters.”
The Army released Plan 1.0 in 2021 as part of its strategy to unify networks with common standards, systems and processes to reduce complexity and increase integration. From that effort, the service created the Unified Network Operations (UNO) initiative to operationalize the network in a way that isn’t possible currently.
Through this initiative the Army wants to create an agile, software-defined network that is easy to set up and use.
With UNO acting as the technical side of the equation, the Unified Network Plan 2.0 will help with the security and cultural pieces, Rey said.
“We’re going after that specifically to ensure that the data can be moved across all of our enclaves, from unclassified to classified to the high side as well as on episodic mission partner environments,” he explained. “Another thing that we’re looking at and laser focused on is just reducing complexity across the network and then moving that complexity up to the divisions so that the divisions are actually the ones who are pushing data back down to the organizations, our companies, our brigades and battalions that are actually in the fight.”
AUNP 2.0 retains the five lines of effort detailed in the plan’s first version:
- Establish the unified network.
- Posture the force to support multidomain operations.
- Design security and survivability based on zero trust principles.
- Transform the Army’s unified network investments, policy and governance.
- Continuously improve the unified network.
Building on lessons learned
Additionally, the second version takes the move to zero trust further by incorporating observations and lessons learned from ongoing operations around the globe, as well as best practices for security.
Rey said during the last four years, the Army used Plan 1.0 to consolidate 11 of 13 organizational networks, to enhance operational capability, to improve network security and to establish a data fabric integrated by a data mesh.
He said Plan 2.0 will ensure users have a better experience.
“That’s where data centricity is going to play big for us. Across the board, we have better and more robust transport. Within 2.0, you’ll see we’ll be using lots and lots of transports, like low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellites, for instance. We’ll look at geostationary earth orbit (GEO), and we’ll look at Wi-Fi and cellular capabilities because the spectrum is going to play a bigger role in everything that we do from the tactical edge,” he said.
“We’re going to look at the integrated tactical network as a portion of that, and how does that play into implementation because really what AUNP 2.0 is implementing is this environment that we’re trying to create for better user experience across the board.”
Can Army create same experience as online banking?
The goal of better UX is underpinned by zero trust capabilities.
Rey said the consolidated network means Network Enterprise Technology Command will have better visibility to address cybersecurity threats and anticipate potential issues that would hamper commanders and soldiers from accessing data and applications before they happen.
And just as important, the addition of zero trust capabilities will help create a seamless experience for the solider moving from one command to another.
“I should not have to renegotiate with the Network Enterprise Center to get onto the network. I should seamlessly go to my organization, plug in my Common Access Card, and I’m automatically on the network,” Rey said. “That is the end state that AUNP 2.0 wants to bring to the table: seamless movement across our enterprise.”
Rey used the example of online banking. That’s where he wants the Army to get to through this unifying effort.
He said banking applications create a session where users validate and verify their identities to access the data that resides on bank networks.
“They don’t know who we are. They didn’t trust us, other than through our credentials. That’s the steps we’re trying to get after when we talk about identity. We want your identity to be single across our entire network architecture — unclassified, classified and our episodic mission partner environment,” he said. “If we can get that identity across there, then we will use your credentials to move you across the environment. We will then give you access to data. We will manage you while you’re there in order to get you to data, where we really need to make the largest leap. This is this is going to be a culture change.”
Data-centric environment drives Army culture shift
Today, Rey said, the service secures at the transport layer. “Tomorrow, if we can get at the data layer — where we label data, tag the data, and therefore, we can use your attributes to give you access to that data in the future — that’s the zero trust environment we’re trying to create now.”
And because the unified network will be software-defined and rely on attribute-based access control, commanders and soldiers will only be able to see the data they are allowed to see, even across multiple security classifications.
Rey said all of these efforts depend not just on the G-6. The Army’s chief information officer must tackle policy updates, and the Program Executive Office Command, Control, Communications, and Network must address intelligence issues. And other service organizations will also have a hand in the effort too, he said.
“Anything that we do in a data-centric environment really comes down to what our partners are willing to share with us. Is that position location information? Is it their sensor data? Is it the intelligence data? Is it logistics data? So that partnership has to be there in order for us to get to the end state that we’re looking for. This is a culture change. This is just a different way of doing business going forward.”
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