The Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) has released its annual technology watchlist for fiscal year (FY) 2025, spotlighting specific capabilities it aims to pursue, and once again, artificial intelligence (AI) is taking the top position.
During DISA’s annual Forecast to Industry event on Oct. 28, Steve Wallace, director of emerging technology and chief technology officer at DISA, gave industry partners a look at where the agency plans to invest – from research to deployment.
In its FY2025 tech watchlist – an annual inventory of over two dozen technologies of interest – DISA highlights several key areas related to AI. These include leveraging AI for cybersecurity, exploring large language models, and implementing guardrails for responsible AI development and deployment.
Kicking off the research section of the watchlist, DISA plans to explore AI trust, risk, and security management, which was first added to the agency’s FY2024 tech watchlist.
The combat support agency is also in the proof-of-concept stage for AI-augmented software engineering, and bot detection. Additionally, DISA is prototyping and piloting AI initiatives in areas such as cyber anomaly detection and big data analytics and visualization.
DISA’s most significant AI initiative is the upcoming “Concierge AI” platform. Previously listed under the “planning” section of the FY2024 watchlist, this digital concierge has been in the pilot stage for nearly a year. Now, DISA is set to begin deploying the platform within the agency.
Other Tech Interest Areas for DISA
While AI tops DISA’s tech watchlist, it certainly isn’t the only focus.
Wallace said that DISA – on the research side of things – wants to take an early look at 6G cellular technologies. While organizations are still grappling with 5G, Wallace emphasized the importance of understanding 6G’s potential, stating that the Defense Department (DoD), “needs to adapt to and understand the applicability of 6G.”
Another technology area DISA is keen on prototyping for FY2025, and aligning with broader Federal efforts, is quantum-resistant cryptography. Recently, the DoD’s Chief Information Security Officer emphasized this as the top priority for his team as well.
Other cybersecurity efforts on the watchlist include researching an open cybersecurity schema framework and a proof of concept of continuous monitoring of Authority to Operate authentication, which is an area other defense components and military services are investigating.
Wallace also noted that DISA’s Hosting and Compute Center will pilot hybrid cloud management through a distributed hybrid multi-cloud approach, which he stated, “will serve as the foundation for transforming hybrid cloud operations.”
