Kristen Smith 
A combination of zero trust architecture, data-centric security and cross-domain capabilities is emerging as a baseline requirement for national security missions as agencies work to modernize systems and enable secure data sharing.
In an opinion piece Federal News Network published Monday, Ned Miller, senior vice president of strategic growth initiatives at Everfox, said agencies must integrate these three elements to support secure, real-time collaboration across operational environments.
Zero trust frameworks establish identity-based access controls, while data-centric security ensures information remains protected regardless of where it moves. Cross-domain technologies enable secure interoperability between systems and networks, enabling data exchange between partners to achieve decision advantage.
Why Are Agencies Struggling With Data Sharing?
The push toward this model reflects persistent challenges seen in defense and intelligence environments.
Data from Everfox’s CYBER360: Defending the Digital Battlespace report revealed that cyber incidents continue to increase, with agencies facing a higher volume of attacks year over year, and that many organizations still depend on legacy infrastructure and manual processes to move data, limiting speed and increasing risk.
Differences in classification levels, data policies and sovereignty requirements further complicate collaboration between agencies and allied partners.
How Do AI and Zero Trust Complicate the Environment?
Artificial intelligence is expanding the volume and importance of mission data, but it also introduces new security considerations. Agencies must manage how models access and process information across multiple domains, including highly classified environments.
Zero trust policies, while central to cybersecurity strategies, add complexity to data movement. Federal security leaders and IT decision-makers report challenges in transferring information securely between networks and managing identity across systems.
Miller said these factors highlight the limits of relying on any single security approach. He noted that combining zero trust, data-centric security and cross-domain capabilities allows organizations to maintain control over sensitive information, enabling continuous modernization and collaboration at mission speed.
