Google Cloud will provide its Secure Cloud Management (SCM) solution to DoD’s Defense Innovation Unit for organisation-wide implementation
Google Cloud's SCM solution is said to support zero trust principles. (Credit: Bethany Drouin from Pixabay)
The Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) of the US Department of Defense (DoD) has selected Google Cloud’s solution for secured and controlled access to software-as-a-service (SaaS) applications.
Under the contract, Google Cloud will provide its Secure Cloud Management (SCM) solution to DIU for organisation-wide implementation.
Built on Google Cloud’s Secure Application Access Anywhere offering, the SCM solution is a container-based offering that facilitates secure application access and monitoring.
The solution was chosen after DIU deployed three separate, year-long SCM prototypes supplied by Google and two other commercial vendors.
The DoD organisation carried out the prototyping of three different commercial solutions for more than a year, with an objective to achieve fast, secure, and controlled access to SaaS apps directly over the internet.
Google Cloud North America Public Sector vice president Lynn Martin said: “In today’s new cybersecurity paradigm, it’s critical that government agencies see the benefits of adopting a zero trust security strategy and have the option of selecting more modern, cloud-native solutions that meet their unique needs.
“We are honoured to partner with DIU as the organisation undergoes the next phase in its zero trust journey, as we believe other DoD agencies can benefit and learn from this security approach.”
Developed in partnership with Palo Alto Networks, Google Cloud’s SCM solution is said to support zero trust principles.
To protect microservices-based applications, Palo Alto Networks VM Series and CN Series offer machine learning (ML)-powered advanced firewall capabilities directly inline.
For applications protected by the Google Cloud SCM solution, Prisma Access offers endpoint inspection, authentication and remote access.
According to the company, the SCM solution was built on the notion that implicit trust in any single component of a complex, interconnect system could lead to major security risks.
Google Cloud said that the solution is available for acquisition by other DoD agencies, through Other Transaction Authority (OTA) agreements.
The open, standards-based solution is designed to provide a scalable, highly responsive alternative to DoD’s current network boundary points.