John Hickey, cyber development director at the Defense Information Systems Agency, has said DISA relies on cyber protection teams, identity management and integrated security to help detect and protect the agency’s information networks from cyber threats.

Hickey said that DISA collaborates with the Joint Force Headquarters-Department of Defense Information Networks to provide training to CPTs, DISA said Wednesday.

He told Federal Computer Week Security Summit attendees in Washington that CPTs under DISA undergo training on the Joint Regional Security Stacks, cyber situational awareness and big data platforms, as well as immersion training through deployments and exercises.

Hickey also cited the need to deploy the JRSS system, which aims to provide DISA visibility into all network endpoints, and to partner with industry in order to facilitate the integration of security with the cyber environment.

He also mentioned DISA’s programs that work to protect the agency’s networks from unauthorized access and insider threats, such as the Public Key Infrastructure as well as form-factor and derived-credentials programs for tablet computers and other mobile devices.

CIA Director John Brennan has said the intelligence profession needs to “flourish” in the digital domain where he says “most human interactions take place,” The Atlantic magazine reported Wednesday.

The digital age “has totally transformed the way we are able to operate and need to operate” and the intelligence profession “can’t avoid it,” Brennan added.

Brennan told contributing editor David Rohde that the information age has created both opportunities and vulnerabilities for espionage and has made government management practices of the 20th century outdated.

“U.S. decision-making processes need to be streamlined and accelerated… Because the problems are not going to wait for traditional discussions,” he said.

Brennan introduced several changes to the CIA in 2015 in an effort to address cyber and terrorist threats, Rhode reports.

These changes include the creation of 10 “mission centers” that seek to promote collaboration among CIA agents, hackers and analysts as well as the establishment of the Directorate for Digital Innovation that aims to leverage use of data analytics, online espionage and other technology platforms, according to the report.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology has issued draft guidance meant to help U.S. organizations identify, hire and retain cybersecurity workforce.

NIST said Wednesday the Cybersecurity Workforce Framework contains category and description of strategies for employers to build a team of cyber staff to protect their networks.

The agency’s National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education developed the framework in collaboration with industry, academia and the departments of Defense and Homeland Security.

The framework is also intended to assist in the development of training standards and individual career planning.

“The NCWF can help an organization identify cybersecurity tasks within a work role that are vital to its mission and then examine if its current staff can perform those tasks and, if not, hire staff who can,” said Bill Newhouse, NICE deputy director and lead author of the document.

The framework classifies the workforce into seven categories comprised of more than 30 specialty areas such as legal advice, oversight and incident response.

NIST will accept public comments on the draft through Jan. 6, 2017.

The U.S. Navy has developed and demonstrated a common control system that works to run unmanned vehicles to facilitate medical evacuation missions through a single ground station.

The service branch demonstrated the CCS with the Air Force and Army in an effort to show how the platform can control an unmanned ground vehicle and autonomous K-Max helicopter in a casualty evacuation event held at Fort Dix in New Jersey in August, the Navy reported Oct. 19.

The Navy collaborated with Neya to develop a set of data transfer interfaces between the CCS and the Air Force’s common mission command center.

BAE Systems and Lockheed Martin used the Neya-built interfaces to develop a functionality that works to facilitate sharing of mission plan data between the CCS and CMCC.

During the demonstration, the CCS worked with CMCC to transmit data to the Army’s Vertical Takeoff and Landing Tactical Interface controller to help the medic evaluate casualty evacuation routes and collection points as well as monitor the victim’s vital signs.

The Navy plans to integrate the CCS platform with ground, aerial, maritime vehicles.

Terry Halvorsen, chief information officer at the Defense Department, has said DoD will constantly update its shared cybersecurity system due to fast changes in the fields of cybersecurity, information technology and software, Federal News Radio reported Wednesday.

Meredith Somers writes Halvorsen told the audience at the Defense Systems Summit in Virginia that DoD’s Joint Regional Security Stacks will never have a last version if it remains functional.

“[Given] the rate of change both in software, tactics, procedures in this field, it has to get better, has to keep morphing, so we’re going to have that issue as we move forward with JRSS,” Halvorsen said.

“If you are in this business, the cyber-IT-software hub, it never can stop,” he added.

Halvorsen noted the Joint Information Environment effort to unify and secure DoD’s IT networks will constantly update to address threats, costs and usability, Somers reported.

He added the department needs to test and boost JRSS governance and operations, the report stated.