[SatNews] The Defense Department’s classified mobility capability, delivered through a partnership between the Defense Information Systems Agency and the National Security Agency, has moved out of the pilot stage and is now operational, said Kim Rice, DISA’s Mobility Portfolio Manager.

Defense Mobile Classified Capability – Secret (DMCC-S) enables users to access classified voice and data, up to the secret level, from anywhere in the world. The latest release, version 2.0.5, builds on the previous service offering by providing improved call interoperability, failover, and the introduction of a mobile device management (MDM) system for an enhanced security posture.

DMCC-S is the replacement capability for the Secure Mobile Environment Portable Electronic Device (SME PED) system, which DISA will shut down July 30 as part of DISA’s commitment to achieve fiscal efficiencies by eliminating legacy and duplicate services. The agency started replacing SME-PEDs and first-generation DMCC-S devices with the second generation DMCC-S devices and will continue this transition, along with supporting new customer requests, through the end of this year.

The agency’s goal is to have 3,000 DMCC-S users by second quarter of fiscal year 2016.

Executive Comments

“We’re also providing a new secure mobile device, which features enhanced graphics, improved sound quality, and a longer battery life than earlier pilot devices,” said Rice. DMCC-S secure mobile devices are commercial smartphones with some features, such as the camera, GPS, and Bluetooth, disabled. “The operational mobile classified capability brings us one step closer to the Joint Information Environment vision, where our warfighters and national level leaders can access a secure infrastructure and applications from any device, anytime, anywhere.

“This release is a big step toward being able to deliver secure mobile capabilities faster than we have ever seen before. The use of commercial products approved via NSA’s Commercial Solutions for Classified Program provides a mechanism to securely access and deploy new technology with significantly reduced deployment cycles. That’s important because it enables us to scale the capability. In the near future, we expect to triple the number of active DMCC-S users.”