Agencies look to get smart on IoT

Federal agencies are grappling with growth in internet-connected devices on their networks, but a few agencies are making progress when it comes to acquisition and management of internet-of-things devices.

The use of IoT sensors and other devices, said Frank Konieczny, chief technology officer at the Air Force's Office of Information Dominance and Air Force CIO, should be driven by overall mission effectiveness as opposed to framing it as a cost-benefit equation.

That math, according to Konieczny and other speakers at AFCEA's April 24 IoT Summit, is not as straightforward when the missions are critical.

The Air Force, like the other armed services, is working to get a handle on how many IoT devices it has, where they are and what they do. The Air Force has a "Smart Base" trial underway at Maxwell Air Force Base in Alabama to see how IoT can help monitor perimeter security, gates, vehicle fleet management and other operations.

That trial, Konieczny said, will help the Air Force determine how to more effectively handle IoT as a mission asset, he said.

Scott Tousley, deputy director of the Department of Homeland Security's Cyber Division said that "everyone is grappling with how to incorporate [IoT]."  Each agency will have to work out how to do it using its own way, because agency missions and priorities can be vastly different.

However, he pointed out that an agency's tech culture will have a big influence on how IoT is incorporated and handled, just as it does with IT acquisition and the adoption of agile techniques. "Does your organization have a technical culture of continual improvement and learn from what it has done?" he asked.

Federal agencies, particularly those charged with critical missions, should have a more robust approach to not only installing IoT, but also in its development, he said.