DoD imposes military site restrictions
Access denied

SOLDIERS who routinely access unclassified US Department of Defense (DoD) web sites in the course of their duties can no longer do so.

Changes in policy by the DoD mean that access is restricted to certified users.

Mandy Cramer, Director of eBusiness Strategies (DeBS), within the ADF’s Chief Information Officer Division, said that the common means of restriction were by the use of domain restriction (.mil and/or .gov), filtering of specific Internet Protocol addresses, user ID and/or password authentication.

However, the US has taken advantage of its Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) and now restricts access to holders of valid US DoD certificates.

The progressive introduction of this kind of access control means that, just like all US DoD employees, ADF members will be required to obtain a PKI Class 3 certificate from the US DoD Class 3 PKI.

This requirement will include all ADF personnel and contractors working on-site at Defence facilities or contractors working at non-Defence facilities using government equipment.

The Australian Defence Organisation has been given authority to temporarily issue certificates using the US DoD PKI processes as a result of the US policy direction and the schedule for the Combined Communications Electronics Board decision to move towards mutual recognition of Certificate Authorities.

The Trusted Agent Project, within DeBS, has been established to implement an interim US Trusted Agent system for soldiers to obtain US DoD recognised certificates to access US DoD PKT enabled web sites.

Soldiers will be required to attend an evidence of identify interview (similar to that done when opening a bank account) providing 150 points of identification and apply for a US PKI certificate at trusted agent sites.

If you require certification contact DeBS Assistant Director, Chris Hein on: (02) 6265 5355 or at chris.hein@defence.gov.au and advise your requirement for a US DoD PKI certificate.