Oct 8– The US Army’s Chief Data Officer (CDO) states that achieving zero-trust will be easiest if software and other tech infrastructures are interoperable. This represents a departure from traditional, competitive business practices that can result in “vendor lock-in.”

CDO David Markowitz advocates for the industry to be interoperable with itself. To enable greater interoperability, the army is diverting resources to an enterprise Application Programming Interface (API) that permits systems to easily communicate with one another.

“We are [also] looking to industry…” says Markowitz. If industry can incorporate interoperability into systems, the army can reconsider how it licenses technologies from industry groups. Software would no longer need to be purchased in specific packages. More flexibility would exist. “We could mix and match with what we think is best,” in terms of software. Interoperable systems may not only translate to increased security, but also result in more optimal use of Army resources.

Army contractors may wish to reevaluate how they can assist federal groups in meeting new data and cyber security objectives. For more on this story, click here. Lastly, to receive cyber security insights, analysis and resources in your inbox each week, sign up for our newsletter.