DISA | Defense Information Systems Agency

How They Defend Us & How we help DISA with physical security requirement

                Information has always been a vital part of warfare; from the past; when it primarily took the form of reports from spies, scouts and civilians and to the present, where information is often gathered with computers, drones and satellites. Without information on enemy movements, weather, political developments and countless other variations, an armed force cannot function. Today, information moves faster than ever before because of technology and with the interconnectedness of our modern world and that means there is a lot more of it and that must taken into account with each situation.

                The United States of America can project its military power to any part of the globe; there are hundreds of far-off military bases, alliances with other countries and areas were the U.S. Armed Forces are engaged in activities ranging from peacekeeping duty to all-out warfare.  This complex international situation creates mountains of information and data that must be collected, processed, interpreted and put together for the benefit and use of American personnel. This monumental task is where DISA comes in.

                The Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) is an agency of the United States Department of Defense. They provide communications support and information technology to the military services and their combat commands, the Secretary of Defense, the Vice-President and the President. The DISA is a combat support agency and they engineer/provide command and control capabilities and enterprise infrastructure so they can continuously operate a global net-centric enterprise in direct support of soldiers, national level leaders and other mission/coalition partners across the full spectrum of operations.  They connect the enterprise (the forces, users and global partners) where information is produced and consumed at speeds and quantities never before imagined. The DISA provides the network, computing infrastructure and enterprise services to support information sharing and decision making no matter where the information is located or sourced.

                They use real time intelligence and surveillance/reconnaissance information to enable the exchange of information between producers and shooters. The DISA employs over 16,000 people (military, federal, civilian and contractors) who all share the same goal; enabling information dominance in the defense of the United States.

                The agency was created in 1960 as the Defense Communications Agency. They were founded to consolidate the independent long-haul communications functions of the Army, Navy and Air Force. In the years that followed, the agency took over other government organizations as their mission expanded and the general level of technology increased. In 1991, they were renamed DISA to reflect their role in providing total information systems management for the Department of Defense. The DISA’s role in the global war on terror is an important one. They provide computing services that support more than eight million users who use over 1,400 applications and use more than 1.7 petabytes of storage. DISA is the number one provider of defense personnel, payroll, logistics, accounting and medical records processing.

                DISA’s mission covers multiple sectors of operations. They deliver hosting and information processing services from 13 different computer centers and they purchase telecommunications/information technology for the military. The DISA has administered 84,083 contracts; valued at 6.8 billion dollars. They also plan, design, construct and analyze the effectiveness of the U.S. Military’s cyberspace (Global Information Grid); the DISA establishes the technological standards that make the GIG secure.

                The DISA also promotes safe information sharing by making data ubiquitously accessible while restricting access, assuring network protection and detecting, diagnosing and responding to attacks. Information Assurance Security Officers assist in these efforts. The Multinational Information Sharing Program (MNIS) that DISA runs allows coalition forces to work together and communicate effectively. The DISA also establishes the standards for information formatting/encryption and facilitates the sharing of that information in a single environment. Their Net-Centric Enterprise Services (NCES) connects the people who have the information to the people who need the information.

                Satellite communication services are another area that the DISA is heavily involved with. Working the Department of Defense; the DISA leads SATCOM services. They are the sole authorized provider of commercial SATCOM services to the DoD and also provide voice, video and data reachback capabilities for the DoD Teleport System. The DISA also handles the video, voice and data communications capabilities for the President and his staff. Another DISA program is the Defense Spectrum Organization (DSO). They provide direct operational support to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff with electromagnetic spectrum analysis and the development of long-range integrated plans and strategies for spectrum access.  The DISA also tests and provides joint certification for the U.S. Armed Forces’ net-centric systems.

There are two other DISA programs that are very important to the safety and security of the nation; SIPRNET and NIPRNET. Secret Internet Protocol Router Network (SIPRNET) is a system of interconnected computer networks used by the DoD and the State Department for the transmission of classified information. SIPRNET is the classified DoD version of the civilian internet.  The Non-classified Protocol Router Network (NIPRNET) is used to exchange “sensitive” but not classified information among internal users and the method in which military personnel are allowed access to the civilian internet. It is composed of internet protocol routers owned by the DoD.

                K.L. Security and www.safeandvault.com have a lot to offer DISA in general and SIPRNET and NIPRNET in particular. Among our product lines are GSA-approved containers, armored/protected hard drives and numerous devices that work perfectly with the DISA’s mission and goals. The first product we would like to showcase is the GSA Approved Army Class 6 Field Safe. This is DoD level equipment and perfect for storing zip drives, computer discs and electric information. Another important series of products are the GSA Approved IPS/Comsec information processing systems Containers; these containers are well-suited for DISA’s purposes. They allow for safe and unmanned online operation of computers, network servers and workstations that process classified information. We also sell a number of GSA approved Military/Government physical security cabinets and safes. Our multi-function Class 5 and Class 6 security safes/filing cabinets can fulfill a number of DISA’s security needs.

                The DISA handles and protects the military’s information, both non-classified and top secret (SIPRNET/NIPRNET) and we can provide the DISA with the equipment necessary to protect the tools they use to handle, control and manipulate this information. This forms a perfect circle of protection and we’re proud to have any opportunity to assist the men and women who protect the information (and through those ends) the United States itself.