Get those 8GB files ready: DISA launches new unclassified file transfer system
A new file transfer system for unclassified Department of Defense material reached initial operating capability Thursday.
The DOD Secure Access File Exchange (SAFE) will replace the current system, which was developed by the Army and has the same name. The new file size limit is 8 gigabytes, up from 2 gigabytes under the current system. The first version of SAFE was designed for a smaller set of users, and the new technology will reach enterprisewide, according to a release from the Defense Information Systems Agency.
“Most importantly, we’ve improved file transfer security,” said Sophie Johnson-Shapoval, a computer engineer with the Defense Collaboration Service, a DISA office.
The file transfer system will work on the Pentagon’s non-classified network, known as NIPRNet. The transfer system will be secure enough to transfer documents marked for official use only, ones with personally identifying information and protected health information, according to the release.
The system will offer package-level encryption and require a Common Access Card to initiate all transfers. The access card is the DOD’s enterprisewide identification system that users insert into devices as a part of the authentication process. DISA and other agencies have long sought to move beyond the CAC with new login tokens and even some artificial intelligence-based programs.
