Pentagon working to quickly acquire mobile technologies.

• Author: Insinna, Valerie

* The Defense Information Systems Agency is in the midst of implementing a commercial mobile device plan that will allow for quicker adoption of the latest smartphones and tablets.

The initiative could bring a wave of diverse, new technologies to the Pentagon and let employees more effectively work on the go. Devices will operate under a common infrastructure that DISA officials hope will cut costs and reduce vulnerabilities to network intrusions.

"Today, when you think of our unclassified networks and our classified networks, were not always connected with commercial technology," said John Hickey, DISA's mobility program manager. "We're essentially always connected with satellites or government-specific systems that we've developed from a radio standpoint."

DISA in February issued an implementation plan focusing on mobile devices, applications and wireless services.

To help put that plan into action, the agency stood up a program office for mobility services that currently supports over 1,300 devices used by personnel from across the services and Joint Staff, Hickey told National Defense.

One of the implementation plan's major goals was the selection of a mobile device manager who will act as a "traffic cop," with responsibilities such as monitoring the use of smartphones and tablets and enforcing department policy. The manager also will oversee a department-specific mobile applications store.

DISA in June awarded a $2.9 million contract to Bethesda, Md.-based Digital Management Inc., to fill this role. The initial contract covers the first year. The agency has the option of renewing the contract every six months for two years after that, bringing the total award to nearly $16 million, said a DISA news release.

According to the original request for proposals, the mobile device manager "institutes the policy, security and permissions that define the functions the user is enabled to conduct on the mobile device. This capability ensures the security of the entire user community is not compromised by an incorrectly configured device."

The company will manage malware-detection software and the digital distribution of software over devices. It also will have the power to remotely configure or erase data from smartphones and tablets.

One of the major drivers for instituting a mobile device manager is cost, Hickey said.

"We only want to pay somebody to look at the device once from a security standpoint," he said. "We don't want five, six, 10, 15 contractors at various subordinate commands to do that."

Having one entity in charge of instituting policy for all commercial...