Last Friday, on behalf of Segue Technologies, I attended the 2nd Annual Defense and Security Mobile Technologies Symposium, hosted by AFCEA DC’s Defense & Security Mobile Working Group, at the Capitol Hilton in Washington, DC. The purpose of this event was to provide a platform for military and government leaders to discuss their goals, requirements and challenges with industry professionals in the private sector. This kind of discussion helps guide policy formation and gives America an edge over her adversaries in the mobile arena.
Keynote speakers included representatives from the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA), National Security Agency (NSA), Department of Defense, and the Department of State. Each spoke about the unique challenges their agencies face. Increasingly, office personnel, agents in the field, and warfighters on the battlefield are demanding access to rapidly changing information with smartphones, tablets, and other mobile devices in order to complete the mission effectively. With that need, decision makers need to strike a balance between policy and flexibility to ensure that the data on the device is protected, communications are secure, and the information delivered has integrity and authority.
Though the event was focused more toward device manufacturers and network carriers, Segue felt it was worthwhile to attend the event in order to become familiar with security concerns as they apply to software application development on these platforms. I learned that many agencies have in-house development teams already working on proprietary software solutions for Android and Apple devices, but do plan to open up app stores within each agency to contractor development teams in the future.