Article by Claudia Borovina, IC Communications Fellow from the National Security Agency
Professionals from across the Department of Defense and the Intelligence Community gathered in San Antonio, Texas the week of Dec. 12 to collaborate and share insights during this year’s annual Department of Defense Intelligence Information Systems Conference. Hosted by the Defense Intelligence Agency, the conference’s theme was “Transcending Strategic Competitors Through Innovation, Adaptation and Collaboration.”
DOD and IC members spent the week discussing areas of shared challenges and the development of action plans to address them. Attendees heard from speakers from across the IC, participated in breakout sessions and had the chance to discuss career opportunities and partnerships with intelligence staff at different information booths set up by the National Security Agency, the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency and DIA.
The event featured intelligence and defense leaders who spoke to a crowd of senior government officials, technical experts, industry representatives and innovators.
On the first day, Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence Dr. Stacey Dixon delivered her keynote remarks and emphasized the importance of data interoperability for effective collaboration.
“Perhaps more than ever, our ability to stay ahead means harnessing the incredible strengths of our nation, of our allies and of our ability to innovate together,” said Dixon.
As part of her remarks, Dixon also shared details of her visit to St. Philip’s College in San Antonio earlier in the week, where she spoke with undergraduate and high school students pursuing an education in cybersecurity.
PDDNI Dr. Stacey Dixon alongside leadership, students and staff from St. Philip’s College, an IC CAE partner, during her visit to San Antonio, Texas for DoDIIS 2022. Photo by James Williams, ODNI Office of Strategic Communications
St. Philip’s College is designated as an Intelligence Community Center for Academic Excellence in cybersecurity, a designation from the NSA and the Department of Homeland Security. The IC-CAE program was created to increase students’ knowledge of the IC, develop the students' critical skills needed to satisfy the national security mission and cultivate the next generation of IC professionals by working directly with participating educational institutions.
Also giving a keynote address at the conference was IC Chief Information Officer Dr. Adele Merritt, who spoke about the need for cybersecurity improvements and the work her office is doing to lead the “Improving Cybersecurity for the Intelligence Community Information Environment Implementation Plan 2.0,” or I-Plan.
“The specific tasks in this plan will help IC elements prioritize their efforts to further enhance cybersecurity challenges facing the IC, as well as the rest of the U.S. government and private sector,” said Merritt.
She acknowledged that the success of improving our nation’s cybersecurity, effectively modernizing information technology systems and increasing interoperability is not achievable without a team approach that values collaboration and sharing.
“We need the strongest possible unity of purpose to protect our nation’s secrets and outpace our adversaries—particularly in the area of information technology.” said Merritt.
As the event progressed, Sue Dorr, the CIO for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, participated in a keynote panel alongside DOD CIO Douglas Cossa, NSA Deputy CIO Jennifer Kron, La’Naia Jones, the director of Information Technology Enterprise for the Central Intelligence Agency and Roger Greenwell, the director of Enterprise Integration and Innovation for the Defense Information Systems Agency.
“It is a game-changer, as a small IC element, to be able to partner with everyone else on stage,” said Dorr.
Off the main stage, participants held discussions about topics ranging from the IC Data Strategy and cybersecurity to data accessibility and others.
Toward the conclusion of the event, IC Chief Data Officer Lori Wade spoke about the goals of the IC Data Strategy and the need to raise the data acumen of the workforce—similarly to how their cybersecurity acumen has been raised. Wade also echoed Dixon’s call for partnerships across the DOD and IC.
“We have to work together to put into place the ability to discover, access and leverage the IC’s data at the speed of mission—across all missions,” said Wade. “The [IC] Data Strategy includes four focus areas that allow the IC to unlock mission value and insight and leverage our data to operate, collaborate and communicate securely.”
The DoDIIS Worldwide Conference is intended to be an immersive, in-person event designed to bring together leading subject matter experts, decision makers and stakeholders to forge relationships. The event has served as a technology forum to hear from distinguished speakers, collaborate with trusted partners and experience ground-breaking technical solutions to support the warfighter for 20 years.
To view the keynote speeches and panels from ODNI, the IC and DOD, visit the DoDIIS DVIDs page: DVIDS - DoDIIS Worldwide Conference 2022 (dvidshub.net)