Defence moves on network warfare

Defence has opened the door to industry to build an identity management system that will support its network-centric warfare capabilities.

Qualified industry have been invited by Defence to submit proposals to participate in a ten week trial of identity management technologies as part of its JP2099 project, according to tender documents released by Defence today.

(Credit: Australian Department of Defence)

The JP2009 group was established in 2006 to develop Defence's identity management capability, covering personnel and networked machinery and sensors.

Successful candidates will be required to undertake a rigorous four-stage evaluation process designed to test the reliability and capability of potential systems. They will be evaluated by several layers of Defence including CIO Group executives, the Defence executive, and Defence Support Group (DSG).

The tests are scheduled to occur on the bidder's premises via an emulated version of Defence's Restricted Network and Secret Network and will focus on five key areas, including the system's capability where there is no or low bandwidth. Defence will vet the system for security holes and whether it can communicate securely across its various domains.

Defence also hopes to test whether its biometric security systems can be integrated with the proposed system. It currently uses cards and passwords for access to systems by much of its workforce, however may expand pilot biometric systems currently in limited use by Defence.

The request for proposal documents released today follow an invitation-only industry briefing in Canberra on 29 October given by subject matter experts involved in the "JP2099" project.

Another industry briefing has been scheduled for Wednesday 3 December, which will be followed by the tests, a six month request for tender process and a second "pass of approval" process to secure funding from government.