DISA charts DoD cloud future with new security guidance

U.S. Army Spc. Cyrus Haines types air traffic notes onto a laptop recently at Camp Taji, Iraq. Spc. Haines is assigned to the 1st Infantry, 2nd Battalion, 1st Division Fox Company, Combat Aviation Brigade at Fort Riley, Kan. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt Quinton Russ)

The Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) released new cloud security guidance Tuesday, effectively codifying how Defense Department agencies will use commercial cloud products.

Download: Cloud Computing Security Requirements Guide

The new guidelines — a response to a policy released by DoD Office of the CIO in December — specify what can be placed in public clouds, what needs to be contained within a virtual environment and what data must be kept on physically separate networks. The highest level deals with national security systems, which will remain on restricted DoD networks, separate from the cloud until further notice.

Report: What’s next in DoD Cloud

The base level allows agencies to put information on public clouds that are either openly viewable or discoverable through FOIA.

Read the full story at FederalTimes.com.

About 

Aaron Boyd is an awarding-winning journalist currently serving as editor of Federal Times — a Washington, D.C. institution covering federal workforce and contracting for more than 50 years — and Fifth Domain — a news and information hub focused on cybersecurity and cyberwar from a civilian, military and international perspective.