Air and Space Forces Join Army to Sign Up for Bring-Your-Own-Device Program

Following the Army’s lead in its bring-your-own-device initiative, the Space Force and Air Force are preparing to enroll soldiers in the same technology this summer.

Pilots and caregivers will soon be able to take advantage of Hypori Halo Workspace Anywhere, which enables access to government applications, email, NIPRNet, confidential data and CAC-enabled websites via personal devices, including phones or tablets, whether they are in the office or not.

A Hypori spokesperson did not provide an exact date for when registration will begin, but told C4ISRNET that registration is expected to begin this summer.

“The Air Force and Space Force are already using our platform,” Jared Shepard, Hypori’s CEO and president, said at the TechNet Cyber ​​conference presented by Armed Forces Communications & Electronics Association International late last month in Baltimore. “Now they’re going to scale.”

Leveraging the need for unified communications and the pandemic-driven remote work environment, the Army, including its Reserve and Guard components, has already begun transitioning service members to Halo, which has become the only way Army.mil users can access Army 365 services from a personal device since June 11. Shepard said at the briefing that 50,000 Army soldiers have used the service since the BYOD pilot began in 2022. Hypori also received a contract from the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency on June 6 to provide one-third of its workforce with remote access to secure networks.

“(BYOD) is a top priority for us and a game changer because when our Soldiers and Airmen are not in the armory, they need to be connected in a secure way,” Ken McNeill, chief information officer for the National Guard Bureau, said in a February statement.

Reservists and temporary duty soldiers have particularly limited access to a network of bases, so giving them the flexibility to work from anywhere will benefit organizations, leaders say.

“In our dynamic environment, the Department of the Air Force is committed to delivering user-friendly, enterprise-class solutions that enable the force to operate securely across a wide range of operational contexts,” Air Force CIO Venice Goodwine said in a March statement.

The technology also eliminates the need to carry two devices, while ensuring that government and personal data are kept separate to minimize liability. The idea of ​​“no data at rest” means there is no risk of a breach if registered devices are stolen or lost, and ensures that personal information stored on that device is not accessible to the government.

The technology, which also verifies users, complies with a White House order that banned TikTok from being used on government devices over concerns that the social media platform’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, could access sensitive data.

“Industry has an obligation to protect data if it does work for the Department of Defense,” Shepard said.