The Department of Defense is aiming to implement zero trust in weapons systems in 2035. At a recent event, Randy Resnick, director of the Zero Trust Office within the Pentagon’s Chief Information Office and a Wash100 Award winner, said the DOD will work with vendors to ensure that present and future critical systems are protected.
The official admitted that building zero trust in tanks, aircraft and ships will not be easy. He added that effort may even take 10 years or more.
However, he noted that although Congress mandated zero trust in weapon systems, it may not make sense for all platforms to adopt the security framework.
“We need to start thinking and talking about how can we put elements of zero trust in it, and whether or not it even makes sense,” he commented.
“The spirit of wanting to do some more things to control those systems is there. We’re open-minded,” he added
Zero Trust in Operational Technology
Resnick also set a soft deadline of 2030 for zero trust implementation on all operational technology systems at the Pentagon.
In November, the official announced that his office would focus on OT in response to growing adversarial cyberthreats to critical infrastructure.
The Zero Trust Office is working on an official guidance for implementing zero trust for OT. Resnick revealed that the guide will be published by October or even a little sooner depending on the feedback his office. The guide, he shared, will be distributed across the Pentagon within the coming weeks.
