Story by Tiffany Sprinkle
509th Strategic Signal Battalion, 2d Theater Signal Brigade
VICENZA, Italy — The 509th Strategic Signal Battalion is leading the way with Risk Management Framework 2.0 inheritance, better known as Project Sentinel, becoming the first Installation Campus Area Network in the European theater to implement the Army Deputy Chief of Staff, G6’s directive.
The Project Sentinel Common Control Provider identifies several measures that the Army has either identified as redundant as they are captured in existing Federal, DoD, or Army policy; or identified as low risk to the Army.
In response to the changing cybersecurity landscape, the Army is implementing this requirement to prioritize threat-based measures, streamlining the assessment process to take advantage of higher-level inheritance, and set the foundation for systems to enter the RMF Continuous Monitoring phase. The intent is to focus on the right controls versus all the measures.
The 509th SSB RMF team, led by Mr. Scott Downing, tediously contributed more than 500 hours of dedicated work to align the RMF program with United States Army Network Enterprise Technology Command’s RMF 2.0 prerequisites.
The measures required learning new tools and manipulating hardware and software data from over 3,500 network and system devices. Their quick action and precision allowed the 509th SSB to be the first unit in the 2nd Theater Signal Brigade to submit for Project Sentinel inheritance to NETCOM on March 29, 2022. As a result of their diligence, the 509th SSB NIPR and SIPR inheritance approvals became the first ICANs in the European Theater.
“The work was intensive, and the Cybersecurity team displayed a unique ability to grasp not only the broad scope of the responsibilities associated with RMF 2.0 inheritance, but also to manage the incredible number of details associated with this undertaking,” said Mr. Bobby Bragg, 509th Strategic Signal Battalion’s Regional Network Enterprise Center director. “This cyber team worked as a cohesive unit, and their ability to accomplish everything they did in such a short amount of time, is impressive.”
Project Sentinel increased efficiencies and decreased vulnerabilities by reducing the number of Control Correlation Identifiers from 1,335 to 805 on SIPRNet and from 1,208 to 769 on Non-classified Internet Protocol Router Network – an average reduction of 40 percent in manual manipulation. Implementing this measure by 509th SSB will save the Army over $92,000 every year by reducing repetitive, time-sensitive, bureaucratic-based practices and allowing for a more focused effort to authorize systems based on operational processes.
Locally, it ensures that the 509th is better resourced to accomplish cybersecurity requirements set forth by the U.S Government, the Department of Defense, and the U.S. Army. Additionally, the battalion’s and brigade’s success provide invaluable Tactics Techniques and Procedures documentation with visual aids to further the success of the entire theater.
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