Google, McAfee and ZScaler move ahead in DIU's Secure Cloud Management program

Google, McAfee and ZScaler all received success memoranda for their prototype solutions for the Defense Innovation Unit’s “Secure Cloud Management” program, enabling Pentagon organizations to contract with the companies for solutions without a recompete, DIU announced today.

The companies over the past year have been prototyping products to enhance security and control when accessing commercial cloud services without impacting performance. All three prototypes on June 30 achieved their project goals.

“These solutions simplify engagement with non-traditional technology vendors by allowing DIU users to collaborate in real time,” John Chen, interim chief information officer for DIU, said in a press release today. “These solutions provide equivalent security and control to the DOD’s Cloud Access Point (CAP) while delivering real-time performance, which is critical for such things such as videoconferencing and file sharing.”

The prototype solutions were implemented at DIU in May 2020 and were then assessed by third-party organizations based on criteria developed by DIU, according to a June 1 press release.

The prototypes include secure access service edge (SASE) services, “which are a convergence of several related network security functions with wide area network capabilities” and embrace zero-trust principles, according to DIU.

McAfee today in a press release said it offered its MVISION Unified Cloud Edge solution, which provides DIU a single platform to “view all data protection policies and incidents across device, network and cloud.”

Google Cloud last May announced its prototype solution would be built on its multi-cloud platform called Anthos, formerly known as Google Cloud Services Platform, and managed from the Google Cloud Console.

DIU said it plans to select one provider later this year for a long-term Secure Cloud Management solution through a “production” other transaction agreement.