Defense seeks industry input for authentication infrastructure

The Defense Department is seeking industry input to help the agency establish and deploy an authentication infrastructure that will support a variety of IT devices, including desktops, domain controllers, routers, and Web and mail servers.

In a request for information, DOD's Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) Program said respondents should offer information about conceptual technical architecture, the technical feasibility of developing a responsive PKI that will support a minimum of 25 million certificates and, among other things, ideas and suggestions for designing, developing, acquiring and operating the PKI.

The information collected will be used in an official solicitation Defense will issue for a PKI infrastructure to support commercial devices, the department said.

Responses are due Jan. 9, 2006.

Defense's PKI Program has been tasked to develop, operate and maintain a PKI infrastructure for commercial devices that require authentication certificates so the devices can be operated in a trusted manner, the agency said.

Rob Thormeyer is a staff writer for Washington Technology's sister publication, Government Computer News.