In today’s cost-conscious environment, the Department of Defense (DoD) stresses the importance of increasing mission effectiveness while streamlining services to achieve efficiencies within the information technology (IT) domain. With these priorities in mind, the DoD introduced the Joint Information Environment (JIE)—a major initiative to enable a secure information environment with enhanced cybersecurity by leveraging a unified security architecture. The department is looking to collapse network security boundaries, reduce external attack surfaces, and standardize the management, technical and operational security controls in an overall effort to improve DoD Information Network (DoDIN) defense-in-depth.
The JIE provides the DoD with a foundation to realign, restructure, and modernize how its IT networks and systems are structured, operated, and defended. JIE aims to consolidate and standardize the design and architecture of DoD networks to achieve improved mission effectiveness, increased cybersecurity and optimized resources and IT efficiencies. The objective is to ensure DoD military commanders, civilian leadership, warfighters, coalition partners, and other non-DoD mission partners have access to information and data provided in a secure, reliable, and agile DoD-wide information environment.
To meet these objectives, JIE has identified critical milestones for implementation. These include:
- Establish regional Enterprise Operations Centers (EOCs) for enhanced command and control (C2);
- Consolidate data processing centers and the applications they host;
- Standardize a common set of enterprise services (e.g., Defense Enterprise Portal Service);
- Collapse the number of security access points to reduce the attack surface of the DoD networks;
- Reduce the number of networks and standardize/modernize the transport;
- Converge capabilities over Internet Protocol (IP); and
- Implement identity management and access control to protect data and provide the warfighter access to relevant, timely, accurate, and secure information to aid in decision-making.
The JIE effort is being led by the Joint Staff J6, U.S. Cyber Command (USCYBERCOM) and DoD Chief Information Office (CIO) along with active participation from the combatant commands, services, and agencies. The Navy Information Dominance Forces Command’s (NAVIDFOR) JIE Coordination Office in liaison with Fleet Cyber Command is responsible for coordinating with all service and joint stakeholders to identify the manning, training, and equipping implications of a Navywide JIE implementation. The office is working with DoD CIO and the Joint Staff to identify requirements, establish realistic timelines, and minimize operational impact to the fleet during transition.
To date, the primary focus has been establishment of regional EOCs and designation of “Core Data Centers” which intend to serve as the backbone of the JIE infrastructure. The first phase of JIE reached Initial Operational Capability (IOC) in July 2013 with the opening of the first regional EOC in Stuttgart, Germany, for the U.S. European Command area of support (AOS). The next phase, which is in progress, is focused on building out capabilities for the U.S. Pacific Command AOS.
The Navy fully supports the JIE vision and is leveraging existing Navy programs and IT consolidation efforts to align with JIE objectives. The Navy will continue its network normalization, modernization, and consolidation efforts within the proposed JIE framework and Cyber Security Architecture ensuring that mission and operational requirements are met. Navy efforts include partnering with the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA), the U.S. Army, and the U.S. Air Force in their adoption and implementation of Cyber Security Architecture solutions; leveraging best practices; and ensuring these solutions provide a best value approach and support the warfighter mission.
According to Adm. Mike Rogers, USCYBERCOM Commander, on June 24, 2014, at an AFCEA Cybersecurity Conference in Baltimore, “We have a network structure within the Department of Defense that is still largely aligned along [military] service lines. Where I believe we ultimately need to go is a network structure that has a joint global backbone, and that the service has become responsible for how you plug in to the last tactical mile," he said. Realizing JIE will mean faster delivery of capability to warfighters, innovative solutions for warfighters, improved efficiencies, and a secure information capability.
For any questions or additional information about the JIE and the Navy’s Way Forward please visit: https://usff.portal.navy.mil/sites/NAVIDFOR/..JIE_Coordination_Office.aspx.
Sources:
- All Hands on Deck Synchronization, Navy JIE Alignment, Mr. Darren Sawyer, OPNAV N2/N6, Oct. 7, 2014
- Cybersecurity Reference Architecture (CSRA), version 3.0 (FINAL), Sept. 24, 2014
- DISA JRSS Value Proposition Brief, Mr. Mark Orndorff, Mission Assurance Executive, July 17, 2014
- DoD CIO Memo, Joint Information Environment Implementation Guidance, Sept. 26, 2013
- Navy Alignment to IC ITE and JIE Brief, Mr. Darren Sawyer, OPNAV N2/N6, Sept. 9, 2014
- JIE Defense Agencies Planning Summit, CDC Update, Bob Van Meter, Oct. 21 2014