Key Takeaways:
- Defense organizations are increasing their efforts to harden digital infrastructure and secure data exchange across borders and federated environments.
- Cyber resilience is now a defined component of the broader defense investment framework, with a focus on zero trust principles and secure data exchange.
- The US military is implementing zero trust strategies, including the Army’s Unified Network Plan and the Department of the Navy’s Zero Trust Blueprint.
- File security remains a blind spot in defense organizations, with traditional approaches struggling to identify new or modified threats.
- Zero Trust Data Format (ZTDF) provides an essential foundation for extending zero trust to the file itself and ensuring protection and policy travel with the data wherever it goes.
Introduction to Cybersecurity in Defense Organizations
The current geopolitical landscape, marked by growing East/West tensions and persistent cybersecurity attacks by nation-state threat actors, has led to a significant increase in efforts to harden digital infrastructure and secure data exchange across borders and federated environments. In response to these threats, defense organizations are accelerating their investments in cybersecurity, with a focus on zero trust principles and secure data exchange. For instance, at its 2025 summit, NATO leaders agreed to increase defense budgets, with a formal incorporation of cybersecurity as a spending target alongside personnel and equipment. This move acknowledges the critical role that cyber resilience plays in the broader defense investment framework.
Domestic Efforts to Enhance Cybersecurity
In the United States, the military is taking significant steps to modernize its networks and enhance cybersecurity. The Army’s Unified Network Plan, announced earlier this year, sets out a data-centric approach to network modernization, with a focus on creating a secure backbone that links tactical units to command centers. The plan emphasizes resilience, interoperability with allies, and the implementation of a standardized data exchange through frameworks such as the Unified Data Reference Architecture. Similarly, the Department of the Navy’s Zero Trust Blueprint lays out a phased strategy to integrate zero trust across enterprise IT and tactical systems, with a focus on continuous verification of users, devices, and files.
Operating in Contested Environments
The US Navy is also preparing to operate in contested environments where connectivity is unreliable, often referred to as denied, degraded, intermittent, and limited (DDIL) scenarios. In such environments, secure data exchange and storage are critical, and the Navy is working to address the challenges posed by these scenarios. For example, a submarine with no signal access must still operate securely, which requires innovative solutions to ensure the security and integrity of sensitive data.
The Risks of Reactive Technologies
Despite the clear commitment to zero trust strategies, an important security blind spot remains in the infrastructure of many defense organizations: file security. Traditional approaches to file security, such as antivirus, sandboxing, and signature-based analysis, were designed around perimeter control and reactive detection. However, these tools struggle to identify new or modified threats, leaving organizations exposed to zero-day exploits and advanced persistent attacks. In defense environments that require immediate and frictionless collaboration across complex domains and jurisdictions, these limitations present potentially serious risks.
The Zero Trust Data Format
To address these challenges, the Zero Trust Data Format (ZTDF) provides an essential foundation for extending zero trust to the file itself and ensuring protection and policy travel with the data wherever it goes. ZTDF applies zero trust principles directly to individual data objects, including files, emails, and structured datasets, by embedding encryption, access controls, and auditability inside the data itself. This approach ensures that each file carries its own protection, regardless of the network it passes through, and provides assurance that policy and protection travel with the data wherever it goes. ZTDF has gained traction in defense circles, having been ratified by NATO’s Combined Communications-Electronics Board as an interoperable standard for cross-border use.
Broader Implications for Cybersecurity
The move towards comprehensive zero trust architectures across both public and private sectors has significant implications for cybersecurity. Civilian organizations that don’t already have adequate measures in place would be well advised to take note, particularly in light of the extremely damaging ransomware attacks that continue to make headlines. The use of ZTDF and other zero trust technologies can help to mitigate these risks and ensure the security and integrity of sensitive data, regardless of the environment in which it is stored or transmitted. As the cyber threat landscape continues to evolve, the importance of zero trust principles and secure data exchange will only continue to grow, and organizations must be prepared to adapt and invest in these critical technologies to stay ahead of the threats.
