AFRL center maintains excellence as Agent of the Security Control Assessor

Rome, N.Y. – The Air Force Research Laboratory Integration Test & Evaluation Center (ITEC) renewed its Agent of the Security Control Assessor (ASCA) licenses and will maintain its status as a trusted agent for the Air Force Enterprise Security Control Assessor.

“This renewal confirms ITEC’s standing as one of the foremost experts and pioneers in providing independent, accurate, consistent and trusted information system risk assessments for the Air Force,” said Mark Esposito, AFRL ITEC Program Manager.

As an ASCA, the AFRL ITEC team performs risk assessments, helping programs navigate the complex authorization process, identify key risks and acceptable mitigations, and significantly speed up the path to authorization. The center has a geographically dispersed team of trained experts with years of high-level information assurance experience assisting the Air Force in uncovering hidden risks and improving cyber maturity.

For more than 12 years, AFRL’s ITEC has been a driving force in assuring that the innovative technologies developed and fielded to the warfighter do not pose unacceptable risks to Air Force systems and networks.

“To protect our nation and the brave men and women in the field from peril, it is essential that the security of all Department of Defense (DoD) technologies be rigorously assessed to minimize potential paths for an adversary attack,” Esposito said. He explains that ”this assessment  validates that a capability has optimum security features, countermeasures and safeguards in place so that it can be integrated into an operational environment, which in turn, provides critical data for Authorizing Officials to make informed fielding decisions.

The critical demand for an ASCA stems from the need to streamline the authorization timeline, which historically takes up to 18 months or longer for complex systems. In many cases, the AFRL ITEC has shortened that timeline to three to six months on average by acting as a trusted advisor between the system owners and the Security Control Assessor, guiding the system owners through each step of the risk management framework process and providing an accurate risk assessment.

AFRL ITEC supported customers from the Space and Missile Systems Center through the assessment and authorization process of the first space vehicle authorization and subsequent launch of the GPS III satellite. This launch delivered three times more accuracy and significantly  improved anti-jamming capabilities to provide better navigation and timing services at a lower cost to billions of military and civilian users worldwide.

“Due to the extreme talent and determination throughout the team, AFRL ITEC has gained industry-wide recognition as experts in space cyber systems,” Esposito said.

This launch was the first satellite of its generation launched on SpaceX’s first National Security Space mission.

AFRL’s Information Directorate in Rome, New York, is home to the ITEC, the premier AF Center of Excellence for Information Assurance & Assessment, Test & Evaluation, and Technology Assessment.