ISSUED BY: GCIS Communications Command Center
SOURCE: NextGov
22March2011 6:00amEST
GCIS INTELLIGENCE UPDATE: The U.S. military wants to go wireless. It wants handheld devices to replace desktop computers, it wants information available for troops "anywhere, on any device anytime," it wants employees to telework, and it wants to do this all with commercial products.
But it also wants security. And for now, the lack of military-grade security for smart phones, iPads, tablets and other mobile devices is the biggest impediment to a wholehearted embrace of mobile 
computing, military officials told a gathering of technology vendors Thursday.
"Security — I can't stress that enough," said Robert Carey, the Defense Department's deputy chief information officer. And today, the security provided in commercially available mobile devices simply doesn't meet military requirements, he said. That's why the military limits the use of many mobile devices, such as Apple iPads, and services such as social networking.
"Operational security comes first," Carey said.
When Marine Corps pilots wanted to load digital maps into iPads and Kindle devices so they could get rid of bulky briefcases full of paper maps, the Corps said no, Brig. Gen. Kevin Nally, the Corps' CIO, recalled.
The pilots pushed back, demonstrating how they could Velcro the devices to their thighs for quicker, easier access to maps in flight. The Corps finally relented, but forbade connecting the devices to aircraft communications networks — for security reasons, Nally explained. (read full report)
GCIS Briefing Room 