DISA relies on mainframe-based blockchain – GCN

DISA relies on mainframe-based blockchain

The Defense Information Systems Agency is seeking help developing a blockchain-as-a-service (BaaS) offering on System Z mainframes for its mission partners.

For more than a year, DISA has been keeping an eye on a secure, agile and scalable BaaS solution that partners can run on infrastructures within accredited Department of Defense environments, Sherri Sokol, innovation leader at DISA, in February 2019. “It would really just be the platform, infrastructure asset management and monitoring, which are services DISA already offers,” he said.

According to the June 2020 DISA Look Book, the mainframe platform “leverages the power and enterprise mainframe computing experience that DISA already offers and incorporates emerging technologies and approaches.”

BaaS could improve business processes in Department of Defense networks by reducing the manual work of tracking data and assets between silos, improving accuracy, and making information readily available as a strategic asset.

BaaS would enable the selective sharing of information among participants, enabling everyone to obtain information, accelerate informed decision-making, reduce friction and costs in data exchanges, and add new network members and data processes / workflows with related ease, “the Look Book said.” Furthermore, when blockchain is combined with other emerging technologies (eg, artificial intelligence, machine learning, robotic process automation, and the Internet of Things), it can become a force multiplier. “

In a November 4 inquiry, DISA said it would like to find out which currently available products it could use in a solution stack to provide a scalable authorization BaaS offering.

The authorized BaaS capacity must be able to limit membership and visibility for a given blockchain network and the information shared between members on those networks, DISA said.

In addition to deploying on a Linux s390x architecture, the system must support FIPS 140-2 Level 4 compliant encrypted sessions and role-based access controls, containerization, and deployment in an air-gap environment.

Answers are expected on 10 November.