Letters to the Editor

Sir,

Following events under the guise of Mission Partner Interoperability Initiatives, the FVEY nations have agreed an Allied Communications Publication, ACP-240, that provides direction to military partners engaged in secure interoperability with allies. It provides the complaint architecture, policies, procedures and services that enable sharing of information to facilitate Multi-Domain Operations.

As a reminder, Data-Centric Security is an approach to protecting information where the security travels with the metadata (which is cryptographically bound to the object), rather than relying solely on the security of the network.

The move to Data-Centric Interoperability rather than Security reflects our Defence operating concept, integrating Defence across wider government, with traditional allies and a range of other military partners.  Together, these components permit the formation of dynamic Communities of Interest where partners can share information at multiple classifications and releasabilities (eg Releasable NATO) on a single information infrastructure. Practical demonstrations by the UK have proven this concept and we now see new countries, such as Canada and France, joining our efforts in 2024, with the US and Australia moving towards becoming early adopters in 2025.

ACP-240 also includes a definition of a Zero Trust Data Format which has the core characteristics for sharing data securely.  Nations using it are now able to share sensitive, classified information with mission partners using different vendors and products.  ACPs are FVEY publications and ACP-240, like others, is being offered to Nato as a defacto means of information sharing and interoperability within its Command Structure and across its Force Structure.

Phil Davies, Contractor,

Capability C4ISTAR,

UK Strategic Command

Phil Davies’ letter is timely as the impact of data, and its operationally efficient use, gains greater prominence in Defence. It’s directly linked to an article published in the Winter 2022 edition titled ‘What’s all the fuss about Data-Centric Security?’ in which Phil and his co-author Andrew Garner proposed that the pace of modern military operations demands a more dynamic technical approach if Defence is to gain financial as well as the needed operational benefits.