Description
Objective: The objective of this Phase I effort is to design and demonstrate the feasibility of a dynamic, portable, and context-aware authentication framework prototype for secure identity and mission-authorization in austere, disconnected, or high-mobility environments. This Phase I effort will focus on defining the framework architecture, modeling identity-validation requirements for tactical environments, and demonstrating operational independent static infrastructure. This solution should provide a foundation for robust, cross-domain access control-adaptable to Air, Land, Sea, or Space transportation-aligned with the Department of the Air Force's (DAF) Zero Trust and expeditionary security strategies. Description: Modern DAF operations are increasingly defined by mobility, expeditionary reach, and the necessity to operate in contested or infrastructure-sparse environments. Traditional authentication methods—such as Common Access Card (CAC) and Public Key Infrastructure (PKI)—were designed for stationary personnel within predictable, fixed-network environments. In multi-domain and joint logistics corridors, these legacy dependencies create operational friction, introduce significant access delays, and present systemic cyber vulnerabilities when connectivity to centralized identity providers is degraded or unavailable. To address this critical gap, the DAF seeks the development of Project ATOM (Authentication on the Move): a secure, context-aware, and portable authentication framework capable of validating identity and mission-relevant authorization at the tactical edge. This solution must function independently of static, cloud-based infrastructure, enabling continuous, Zero Trust access control that moves with the warfighter or autonomous asset. The solution may demonstrate capabilities such as - Context-Aware Authentication: Utilizing multi-modal inputs—such as biometric, behavioral, and situational environmental data—to verify identity and authorization levels dynamically; - Disconnected Operation: Maintaining robust authentication and access control protocols in Denied, Degraded, Intermittent, and Limited (DDIL) environments without reliance on persistent backhaul to a central identity server; - Cross-Domain Portability: Ensuring seamless identity and access validation across diverse transportation domains, including Air, Land, Sea, and Space; - Zero Trust Integration: Implementing granular, policy-based access control that adapts to real-time changes in the mission environment and potential adversarial activity; - Resilient Infrastructure: Withstanding harsh expeditionary conditions, including electromagnetic interference (EMI) and limited hardware resources, while maintaining low-latency performance; - Scalable Interoperability: Integrating with existing Department of War (DoW) identity standards and mission-critical applications to minimize friction while maximizing security posture. This topic seeks technologies capable of enabling decentralized identity validation that support modernization efforts outlined in the DAF Zero Trust Strategy and the broader objective of resilient, multi-domain operations. Keywords: Authentication, Mobile Identity, Zero Trust, Warfighter Mobility, Portable Credentials, Autonomous Transport, Cybersecurity, Space Logistics, Expeditionary Logistics, AI-Agent Access Control CMMC Level: Level 2 (Self)