Data Repository and Forum Expedites Information Exchange

Signal, Dec 2005 by Kenyon, Henry S

Documentation aids analysis, operational decisions.

A knowledge-sharing effort is helping the U.S. Defense Department's information operations community overcome complex operational challenges. Administered by the U.S. Air Force, this information exchange mechanism permits analysts and warfighters to access relevant data from government, academic and corporate experts. The undertaking also gathers subject matter experts together to discuss and to solve specific issues then stores their findings in an online repository.

Exchanging knowledge across the various components of an organization as large and complex as the Defense Department can be a difficult task. The decline of service-specific data stovepipes has enhanced data sharing; however, many specialized occupations such as information operations stand to benefit from increased communications between users and subject matter experts.

The Information Operations Technology Alliance (IOTA) is an example of a cross-department, multiservice knowledge-sharing effort. IOTA's mission is to be a forum for identifying existing, emerging and developing technologies that may provide warfighters with new information operations capabilities, explains John Bres, an IOTA administrator at the U.S. Air Force Information Warfare Center (AFIWC), Lackland Air Force Base, San Antonio.

Bres describes IOTA as an information-facilitating tool that allows academia, government and industry to share knowledge and insights on all aspects of information operations across disciplines. The alliance meets the information operations community's needs through three interdependent activities: the Phoenix Challenge information operations conferences, the Information Operations Technology Repository (IOTR) and the Communities of Knowledge and Practice (CKAP). "It essentially helps the folks in the military to solve some of their information operations requirements. We provide a common meeting place," he says.

IOTA originated from a discussion topic at a Phoenix Challenge conference and was formally launched in late 2002. The AFIWC sponsors the conferences, which serve as a venue to connect individuals across the Defense Department, government, academia and industry. The events typically attract between 350 and 450 attendees and feature briefings, moderated panels, small meetings and roundtable discussions.

Bres notes that the conferences have evolved from covering general information operations topics to focusing on specific themes such as Defense Department transformation, lessons learned from operation Iraqi Freedom and effects-based solutions. The next Phoenix Challenge will be held January 31 through February 2, 2006, at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, Maryland.

The IOTR is another feature of the alliance. The repository is currently under development, but when complete it will serve as a Web-based forum that will allow users to access data about information operations applications and solutions. The core hardware is a secret Internet protocol router network (SIPRNET) server that is currently undergoing testing and is scheduled to be operational in late 2006. Bres plans to demonstrate the online capability at the next Phoenix Challenge conference. Users will have access to the IOTR via the nonsecure Internet protocol router network (NIPRNET), SIPRNET and the Joint Worldwide Intelligence Communications System (JWICS).

Bres envisions the IOTR as a clearinghouse for information operations data and opinions in the same way publications such as Aviation Week and the Wall Street Journal represent information and opinions for their communities of interest. "We get information from good sources, and we present it for folks to look at. It's not completely authoritative, but it's very helpful," he says.

The IOTR is designed to serve busy information operations action officers whose jobs are multifaceted, demanding and time-consuming. Registered users can access the system briefly several times a week. "You go here if there is information related to some sort of technical problem that you want to solve with information operations-related technology. It will give you pointers about who your other service peers are and what they are doing, what companies are doing that may be helpful, and what's going on in the academic community that may be helpful. Ideally, in the space of one to two television advertisements, you can find the information you need to help you move closer to solving your problem," Bres shares.

The IOTR comprises commercial hardware and software, explains Ivan Chestnut, The Mitre Corporation's lead engineer for the IOTA effort. He notes that the system's Web interfaces will be restricted to specific information operations user groups at different classification levels. Basic content repository and collaboration services will include database storage, workflow management, discussion threads, news services, bulletin boards, chat and whiteboard functions, and list server capabilities. The system's hardware is located and managed at Lackland Air Force Base.