Dana Deasy, CIO at the Department of Defense, detailed this week how the Pentagon is adapting to the realities of using mobile devices and turning them into an advantage for the agency.

Speaking at the Defense Information Systems Agency’s (DISA’s) 2018 Forecast to Industry event this week, Deasy said, “One of the things I keep stressing is, we have to step up and face the reality that the world is becoming more and more mobile, each and every day. I always do this thing, it drives my team crazy, I pull out my CAC (common access credentials) card and say, ‘I’m not sure how to plug this into my mobile device,’” Deasy joked.

The issue of the CAC card has been in the discussion for a while, but the rise of mobility may offer some new solutions.

“I believe mobility is going to become ubiquitous,” Deasy said, and emphasized that new identity capabilities would be needed to accommodate devices. “I believe the mobile device is the device that is going to become the predominance of how we work, interact, and communicate across the department moving forward,” he declared.

When asked about some doubts about requirements for classified mobility capabilities, Deasy held firm in his belief that mobility is key.

“Whether we’re ready to have all the solutions in place, mobility is a way of life. All you have to do is look around the room, and half of you are looking at your mobile devices right now,” Deasy joked.

“I think the reality is that the warfighter is going to need mobility out at the tactical edge. I think we’re going to need to support mobility in a way where it can be degraded. We’re going to need to make sure that from point A to point B, the information can get out to the mobile device in a secure manner,” the CIO said.

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