The Defense Department (DoD) is transitioning its information technology (IT) services to a single agency, a change that a department leader says will result in better cyber hygiene for the department.
The Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) will be responsible for the department’s “common-use IT” like desktops and laptops, says Danielle Metz, principal director for the deputy CIO for Information Enterprise at DoD. Metz says the change, which will begin implementation this fiscal year, “goes hand-in-hand with better cyber hygiene.”
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) said in an April report that DoD needs to take “decisive action” to improve how it implements basic cyber hygiene practices, warning that the consequences of failing to do so could be serious.
Metz, speaking at an online event hosted by Federal News Network on May 14, said the department’s help desks would eventually all fall under DISA’s domain.
The goal of the help desk changes is a better user experience, said Llewellyn “Don” Means, Jr., defense enclave services executive at DISA, speaking at the same event.
