When military personnel are deployed in remote locations, they often find themselves in degraded or disconnected environments where traditional collaboration and data exchange are limited or non-existent. In these scenarios, security can be sacrificed for the sake of mission continuity, leaving sensitive data vulnerable to interception and exploitation.
There’s been no shortage of ideas to address these challenges - but so many do fall short when it comes to maintaining flexibility and interoperability. “Perfect” shouldn’t be the enemy of good - but if “good” excludes your ability to communicate securely, you lose a critical component of mission success, putting secrets in jeopardy.
In the world of defense and intelligence, secure communication is not just a buzzword – it's a matter of life and death. In an era where data is the new currency and cyber threats loom large, military and government organizations face the daunting challenge of ensuring the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of their sensitive information even in the roughest of circumstances. The stakes are high, and the consequences of compromised data can be catastrophic.
Traditionally, secure communication in the defense space has been a complex and fragmented landscape. Different nations and agencies have their own standards and protocols, making interoperability a constant struggle.
But there’s been a quiet revolution on that front, and it goes by the name of Zero Trust Data Format, also known as ZTDF.
What is ZTDF?
The Zero Trust Data Format (ZTDF) is the first interoperable data security wrapper that bridges the gap between the US IC/DOD and NATO STANAGs, enabling seamless and secure data sharing among allied nations. Ratified by the CCEB through NATO, ZTDF is a data-centric security wrapper that seamlessly understands all variations of the TDF (Trusted Data Format) metadata standard, enabling organizations to build bespoke policy enforcement points that meet their mission-specific workflows.
With ZTDF, developers can facilitate secure collaboration and data sharing beyond traditional boundaries, enabling files, messages, and documents to be shared seamlessly with mission partners and allies.
The old ways of doing things just won't cut it anymore. That's where ZTDF comes in – it's not just another acronym, but a whole new approach to how we protect and share sensitive data.
Imagine being able to collaborate with partners across borders and classifications, without the headache of manual tagging and duplication. Picture a future where you can work offline in the field, knowing your data is secure, and sync up seamlessly when you're back online. That's the promise of ZTDF and the suite of groundbreaking tools that come with it.
Having this flexibility allows defense organizations to seamlessly integrate data-centric governance controls into both legacy and next-generation mission applications, ensuring that sensitive information remains protected throughout its lifecycle.
ZTDF also empowers its developers to innovate and create cutting-edge security outcomes by providing client-side, server-side, and scripting SDKs. These tools accelerate the process of augmenting legacy limitations without the need for extensive overhauls, making it easier for organizations to modernize their security infrastructure.
One of the standout features of ZTDF is its ability to integrate with collaboration apps that teams are already using — from Microsoft SharePoint to custom-built applications — allowing for a smooth transition to a more secure environment. By auto-enforcing granular access controls, ZTDF ensures that attributes within files and messages are evaluated in real-time, granting access only to authorized individuals.
It’s an unprecedented level of control - control that empowers entities to collaborate and make better decisions without compromising security or relinquishing control over their sensitive data.
ZTDF in Action
Use Case 1: ZTDF for Data Tagging Across Domains
In the past, when two users from different countries, such as the US and the UK, needed to collaborate on a classified document, they faced several challenges and inefficiencies. Each country had its own unique tagging regime, with the US using "top secret" and the UK using "above secret" classifications. To share the document, they had to navigate a complicated federated network, dropping the file into a shared repository like SharePoint. When the other user retrieved the document, they couldn't simply re-tag it according to their native classification system. Instead, they had to create a duplicate file and manually apply the appropriate tags. This process was time-consuming, inefficient, and left room for confusion and errors.
This is where Zero Trust Data Format (ZTDF) comes into play. ZTDF is a data-centric security model that embeds access rights and classification tags directly into the document itself. With ZTDF, a US user can tag a document as "top secret" and "releasable to FiveEyes partners" in a single action. This eliminates the need for duplicate files and manual retagging.
When the UK user accesses the document through the federated network, the ZTDF-embedded tags automatically translate the classification to "above secret" based on the pre-established access rights. The UK user can then work with the file in their native classification system without any additional effort.
Use Case 2: Multi-Kas and DDIL Encryption Workflow
Multi-Key Access Servers (Multi-KAS), on the other hand, bolstered by ZTDF, focus on the secure management and distribution of encryption keys across different domains. In a Multi-KAS setup, each country or organization can maintain its own key server (KAS), which acts as the authoritative source for encryption keys within their domain. These key servers can be configured to synchronize with each other, enabling secure key exchange and access control across the federated network.
The combination of ZTDF and Multi-KAS creates a powerful, flexible solution for secure data sharing and collaboration across borders and classification systems. ZTDF ensures that data is protected and properly classified at the document level, while Multi-KAS enables secure key management and access control across the federated network.
In situations where network connectivity is limited or non-existent, users can leverage "Denied, Degraded, Intermittent, or Limited" (DDIL) encryption workflows to continue working with classified data in a secure, offline environment using Tactical Data Centers (TDCs). Once connectivity is restored, the TDC syncs with the Multi-KAS, ensuring that all users have access to the latest version of the data.
The ZTDF Revolution is Just Beginning
In a world where secure communication can mean the difference between mission success and failure, it's time for a change.
We're just scratching the surface of what's possible. As more organizations adopt these cutting-edge solutions, we'll see a sea change in how we think about data security. It's an exciting time, and we can't wait to see where this revolution takes us. So let's gear up, dig in, and forge ahead – because when it comes to keeping our data safe, failure is not an option.
To learn more about ZTDF’s potential, contact our federal team today.
