The U.S. Army’s Office of the Chief Information Officers announced the launch of Project Gatekeeper, a DevSecOps platform and security evaluation tool it says will transform how the service tests, accredits and deploys commercial software.
Project Gatekeeper will provide a dedicated commercial-facing relay into the Army’s non-classified internet protocol router network ecosystem, and will serve as a prescreening software assurance capability connecting commercial developers to the Army. The platform will allow developers with the ability to submit code and containerized applications into isolated testing environments and receive automated security feedback and risk assessments in real-time.
“The concept behind Project Gatekeeper is to set industry up for success to engage with the Army rapidly and securely,” Gabe Chiulli, acting Army chief information officer, said. “Historically, companies had to navigate disparate, ad-hoc mechanisms simply to get their code evaluated. Project Gatekeeper replaces operational bottlenecks with an automated, commercial-friendly intake pipeline that cuts evaluation cycles from months down to minutes while safeguarding our network perimeter.”
The project will tackle the friction developers face when navigating the Army’s Cybersecurity accreditation process. Obtaining an authority to operate or a military sponsorship has previously required existing defense contracts, common access card credentials and approval timelines that can stretch to eight months, if not longer.
Project Gatekeeper will use state-of-the-art security tooling to conduct comprehensive automated code scans that can identify vulnerabilities, very compliance guardrails and provide commercial engineers with immediate remediation guidance. Instead of burdening software vendors with manual documentation, the platform’s automated pipelines generate standardized compliance artifacts and evidence dossiers to make fast, risk-informed determinations.
Vendor code runs in secure, containerized enclaves that prevent unauthorized exposure to operational data, the office said, while allowing authentic testing against Army standards. Shortly after release, the platform will also use super intelligence to begin leveraging frontier security models to strengthen existing security tools, provide aggregated security reporting and prioritize remediation efforts.
“Our warfighters are digital natives who expect modern software capabilities to support their mission,” Chiulli said. “Project Gatekeeper establishes the automated foundation required to scale with the speed of commercial technology, ensuring our troops receive cutting-edge tools safely and without unnecessary administrative delays.”