The Defense Information Systems Agency’s (DISA) Thunderdome program has reached full compliance with the Pentagon’s advanced zero trust standards two years before deadline, a spokesperson for the agency confirmed to MeriTalk.
The Defense Department’s (DoD) zero trust strategy, released in 2022, aims to implement a zero trust architecture across the entire department by fiscal year (FY) 2027. To reach this “target level” of zero trust defense, agencies must meet 91 capabilities – and a total of 152 for “advanced” zero trust.
DISA’s Thunderdome becomes the second to meet the department’s zero trust capability outcomes. The Navy’s cloud-based Microsoft Office 365 platform, Flank Speed, was the first zero trust solution to achieve target level, meeting all 91 requirements last year.
DISA began work on Thunderdome in January 2022 when it awarded a $6.8 million contract to Booz Allen Hamilton for the execution of a prototype for a zero-trust security solution that aligned with President Biden’s 2021 cybersecurity executive order.
Booz Allen Hamilton, following the completion of the prototype, was also awarded a follow-on production other transaction authority agreement as DISA transitioned Thunderdome from the prototyping to the production phase.
Building on this progress, the DoD’s Office of the Chief Information Officer (CIO) also announced this week that Dell’s Project Fort Zero has successfully achieved the department’s target level zero trust capability outcomes.
“Dell’s Project Fort Zero achievement of Target Level [zero trust] is another success on the [zero trust] scoreboard for us and for the warfighter,” said Randy Resnick, chief zero trust officer for the DoD, in a statement.
Project Fort Zero is a Dell-led initiative that brings together over 30 technology company partners to fulfill the Department of Defense’s zero trust strategy. Unveiled at Dell Technologies World in May 2023, the solution is designed to enhance organizations’ ability to defend against cyberattacks. The solution was slated for validation by the DoD by the end of 2024.
“Given the short amount of time since inception of the zero trust effort within DoD, this is game-changing. The collaboration between DoD and Dell has accelerated our overall cybersecurity mission,” Resnick stated.