Preparing for a post-pandemic secure workplace at the Pentagon

For the national security workforce, COVID-19 has been destabilizing and transformative. In addition to the personal hardships, Pentagon employees have had to adjust to completely new ways of working. For many, it is the first time they have been able — or in some cases forced — to work from home.

In response to the pandemic, the Department of Defense — an agency with millions of employees whose work requires access to sensitive data — has invested heavily in enhancing its ability to support remote work. Part of this has significantly increased reliance on multifactor authentication, or MFA, to secure the work devices of employee’s operating in a distributed environment. Any cybersecurity expert will tell you that MFA is crucial to securing the U.S. government’s investment in remote working capabilities.