Kristen Smith
The Department of the Navy is planning to conduct autonomous penetration testing of over 100 zero trust capabilities to determine which of them should be integrated within Flank Speed, the Navy’s single enterprise Microsoft 365 solution that provides productivity tools, collaboration tools and OneDrive storage.
The initiative was discussed during the 2025 AFCEA TechNet Cyber, where Carahsoft and its industry partners participated to support the Department of Defense’s mission objectives, Mike McCalip, vice president of government programs and strategy at Carahsoft, said Friday, noting how their cybersecurity solutions could help government agencies implement zero trust architectures.
According to David Voelker, zero trust architecture lead for the Navy, the penetration testing will allow the identification of zero trust capabilities that should be purchased and deployed within Flank Speed by the fiscal year 2027.
Accelerating Software Procurement and Digital Transformation at DOD
The Navy’s initiative is in line with the Department of Defense’s effort to secure its networks with zero trust. The DOD is currently streamlining its software procurement process to speed up the acquisition of powerful, up-to-date technology that could withstand sophisticated cyberthreats and is accelerating digital transformation efforts to keep pace with an increasingly technology-driven security environment.
During the event, Katie Arrington, the acting DOD chief information officer, discussed the Software Fast Track, or SWFT, set to launch on June 1. SWFT is a process designed to expedite software verification, changing how the DOD manages risks and conducts authority to operate. SWFT will replace the traditional ATO structure, require third-party Software Bill of Materials and risk assessments, and allow industry experts to provide feedback to the agency to revolutionize the Risk Management Framework.
The priority digital transformation efforts within the DOD were the focus of Thomas Simms, principal deputy executive director for systems engineering and architecture at the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering. Simms said the DOD’s main modernization efforts are the Modular Open Systems Approach, a technical and business strategy for designing an affordable and adaptable system; the Digital Engineering Instruction, which requires programs to use digital engineering in their design process; the application programming interface ruleset, which allows communication between software applications; and the Systems Engineering Guidebook, which is being updated to incorporate guidance from the latest DOD secretary memos.
According to McCalip, the Carahsoft vice president of government programs and strategy, modernizing legacy systems and enabling the DOD to acquire the latest IT capabilities would enhance operational effectiveness and speed up decision-making.
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