WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Pentagon unveiled a plan on
Tuesday to ultimately enable the Defense Department's 600,000 users of
smartphones, computer tablets and other mobile devices to rapidly share
classified and protected data using the latest commercial technologies.
The system aims to quickly enable the latest
technologies to be securely used by the military while remaining "device
agnostic," said Major General Robert Wheeler, a Defense Department
deputy chief information officer.
That sets the stage for an intensified struggle for
Pentagon customers among BlackBerry devices, Apple's iPhones or iPads,
and units using Google's Android platform.
The Defense Department currently has more than 600,000
mobile device users, including 470,000 with BlackBerries, 41,000 who
have Apple operating systems, and 8,700 who use Android devices.
The new plan will result in the use of a much wider
variety of mobile devices across the military. Currently most devices
using Apple and Google platforms are in pilot or test programs,
officials said.
Few commercial devices are used for classified communications,
whereas the new system aims to bolster security of commercially
available devices so they can be used for classified information, they
said.
Wheeler said the implementation plan aimed to ensure
that mobile devices, wireless infrastructure and mobile applications
remain "reliable, secure and flexible enough to keep up with the
fast-changing technologies of today."
He said the department has a broad range of mobile
device users, from the chairman and planners on the Joint Chiefs of
Staff to policymakers and soldiers on the battlefield, all of whom would
be affected by the implementation plan.
The military services would decide which devices to buy
and provide to users based on need. The system would not initially
enable an individual service member to purchase their own mobile devices
and use them on the Pentagon's networks, but that is a longer-range
goal if security can be assured, officials said.
The plan is a step toward implementing the "mobility
strategy" the Pentagon released last June. The strategy aims to use
smartphone, tablet and other mobile technologies to improve information
sharing and collaboration across the department.
The plan aims to "align the various mobile devices,
pilots and initiatives across the department under common objectives to
ensure the war fighter benefits from these activities," Teri Takai, the
Pentagon's chief information officer, said in a statement.
"This is not simply about embracing the newest
technology - it is about keeping the department's workforce relevant in
an era when information accessibility and cybersecurity play a critical
role in missions," she said.
As part of the implementation plan, the department has
asked companies to submit proposals for creating a mobile device
management platform and an applications store where users can get the
programs they need for their devices.
The mobile device management platform would need a number of security
features, such detecting malware and enabling officials to remotely
delete data from the device, according to documents outlining the plan.
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