U.S. DoD Releases Zero Trust Strategy and Roadmap — November 22, 2022
The Department of Defense published its Zero Trust Strategy, setting a 2027 deadline for implementing 45 capabilities across identity, devices, networks, applications, and data environments.
Executive briefing: On the U.S. Department of Defense released its Zero Trust Strategy and Roadmap. The plan directs DoD Components to achieve target zero trust capabilities by fiscal year 2027, covering identity, device, network, application, data, visibility, analytics, and automation pillars.
Strategy components
- Capability baselines. The roadmap defines 45 capabilities and 152 activities across target and advanced levels, with requirements for continuous multi-factor authentication, micro-segmentation, and encryption.
- Integrated governance. DoD CIO will oversee implementation, leveraging the Zero Trust Portfolio Management Office to coordinate architecture standards, reference designs, and funding alignment.
- Automation focus. The strategy emphasizes automated policy enforcement, data tagging, and continuous monitoring to reduce manual processes and improve resilience.
Implications for defense contractors
- Align security architectures with DoD zero trust reference designs, ensuring interoperability with Joint Information Environment services.
- Assess identity, device, and network segmentation controls against DoD’s target level requirements and document remediation plans.
- Prepare to evidence compliance in contract proposals and during Defense Industrial Base Cybersecurity Assessments.
Broader enterprise takeaways
- Timeline discipline. The 2027 deadline will shape budget cycles and contractor expectations; organizations supporting DoD missions must align roadmaps accordingly.
- Data-centric security. Emphasis on tagging and policy automation mirrors trends in civilian agencies and critical infrastructure sectors.
- Metrics and reporting. Components must track implementation progress and report quarterly—build dashboards capturing capability maturity, coverage, and residual risk.
Zeph Tech is mapping DoD zero trust capabilities to commercial control frameworks so defense ecosystem partners can accelerate compliance planning.