AST Digital Magazine June 2017 Digital-June | Page 74

Volume 13 “The light spectrum might be able to offset some of that work.” (LTG Alan Lynn, USA, Director, Defense Information Sys- tems Agency and Commander, Joint Forces Headquarters- DODIN talks about new technology and innovation like LiFi — data transmitted by light. Courtesy of AFCEA International and YouTube) In addition to lighting offices, LEDs could be used to transfer nine gigabytes of data between the light and individuals’ desktops. Lynn pointed out the technology would also be transferrable to warfighters at the tip of the spear, where Li-Fi could be used in tents in the field. The light-based frequency would not be affected by adversary attempts to jam frequencies, which would likely focus on radio fre quencies, he said. Lynn also said software defined networking is “a big thing” and expressed the agency’s interest in collaborating with industry on it. The Department of Defense will save money by not buying as much hardware and using virtual- ized machines, said Lynn, but the main benefit is in security. “The future that we’re looking for is a virtualized network that we can hop across,” he said. “Imagine a world where when a network is being attacked, you drop all the people on that network onto a duplicate network that’s virtualized.” The general spoke about the grey network – which will enables encryption at the endpoint, June 2017 Edition simplifying the network design. “The legacy infrastructure is device dependent, hardware heavy, and has multiple firewalls, mul- tiple boundaries,” he explained. “In the future, what we see is a software defined network that kind of encrypts and decrypts and the endpoint so that it can ride essentially any network that’s available, any untrusted network.” The grey network would be a game-changer, Lynn said, because any available method of transport could be used. He concluded his remarks by asking the agency’s industry partners to contribute to the agency’s vision with solutions that ad- dress: • Software defined networking. Lynn asked for solutions that reduce the amount of time needed to spin up a virtual router or server. • Assured identity. Unique identity algorithms could become part of the biometric and be- havioral platform library. • Large data analytics. Analytics that provide situational awareness and address insider threat are always in demand, said Lynn. • High-bandwidth light. Light and laser capable of transmitting data will be a key component of Li-Fi. The video recording of Lynn’s remarks is also available on DISA’s Facebook page. Learn more about DISA’s participation in the AF- CEA Defensive Cyber Operations Symposium by following the agency on Facebook and/or Twitter (@USDISA). 74