GSA # 10522

July 3, 2008                                                  
Contact: Mike Collins (202) 501-1231
michael.collins@gsa.gov

The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) and the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) today announced the Data-At-Rest Tiger Team (DARTT) has been recognized with several awards for superior performance and accomplishment. 

The DARTT is a U.S. government interagency group responsible for Data-At-Rest (DAR) encryption policies and technology acquisition vehicles.  DAR encryption products protect personally identifiable information (PII) and sensitive unclassified data stored on computers and removable storage media.

"Through DoD and GSA leadership of the DARTT, the U.S. government’s efforts to protect sensitive and personally identifiable information has been strengthened and improved across the board," said John Johnson, GSA Office of Integrated Technology Services assistant commissioner.

The DARTT was recognized in January 2008 with the DoD Excellence in Information Assurance Award at the annual DoD Information Assurance Workshop. The award was presented by John Grimes, assistant secretary of defense for network integration and information/DoD chief information officer, and Robert Lentz, deputy assistant secretary of defense for information and identity assurance (DASD IIA).

The DARTT also received the 2008 Intergovernmental Government Solutions Award at the 28th Annual Management of Change Conference on June 9, 2008. The conference and award ceremony were sponsored by the American Council for Technology and the Industry Advisory Council. The DARTT was judged superior in the five qualifying categories:

-  The programs are intergovernmental and collaborative;
-  The programs demonstrate technology leadership and innovations;
-  The programs demonstrate business transformation;
-  The programs have measurable impact and results; and;
-  The solution is available and can be replicated.

In addition, the Executive Alliance presented Lentz with its Mid-Atlantic Information Security Executive of the Year award at its conference/awards banquet on June 12, 2008.

“This award is an honor that reflects great credit to the team effort of the intergovernmental DARTT, the highly professional people working within the office of the DASD IIA, and the information assurance community across all levels of the U.S. government,” said Lentz. “DoD supports intergovernmental, cooperative efforts like this, and we believe it represents a blueprint for future efforts.”

More information regarding the Executive Alliance Mid-Atlantic Information Assurance Executive of the Year awards is available at http://www.infosecaward.com/regional/midAtlantic.

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