DEFENSE ACQUISITIONS: Departmentwide Direction is Needed for Implementation of the Anti-tamper Policy
Abstract
To protect its critical assets, DOD has established several protection measures for weapon systems. These measures include information assurance to protect information and information systems, software protection to prevent the unauthorized distribution and exploitation of critical software, and anti-tamper techniques to help delay exploitation of technologies through means such as reverse engineering3 when U.S. weapons are exported or lost on the battlefield. Examples of anti-tamper techniques include software encryption, which scrambles software instructions to make them unintelligible without first being reprocessed through a deciphering technique, and hardware protective coatings designed to make it difficult to extract or dissect components without damaging them.4 In 1999, the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics (AT&L) issued a policy memorandum for implementing antitamper protection in acquisition programs. In the following year, AT&L issued a policy memorandum stating that technologies should be routinely assessed during the acquisition process to determine if they are critical and if anti-tamper techniques are needed to protect these technologies. In 2001, an AT&L policy memorandum designated the Air Force as the Anti-Tamper Executive Agent. The executive agent's office, which currently has four staff, is responsible for implementing DOD s anti-tamper policy and managing anti-tamper technology development through the Air Force Research Laboratory. The executive agent also holds periodic information sessions to educate the acquisition community about anti-tamper policy, initiatives, and technology developments. To coordinate activities, military services and defense agencies, such as the Missile Defense Agency, have an anti-tamper point of contact. Program managers are responsible for ensuring anti-tamper protection is incorporated on any weapon system with critical technologies that need protection.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 2008
- Accession Number
- ADA476087
Entities
Organizations
- United States Government Accountability Office