Coffee & Conversation: Insights From CIA on Cloud & Data

On Wednesday, September 4, INSA hosted a virtual Coffee and Conversation with Larry Taxson, Chief of CLOUDworks, Directorate of Digital Innovation (DDI), CIA, Chris Bennight, Technical Director, Agency Data Office, CIA, for a moderated discussion with INSA Vice President for Policy Bishop Garrison.

The panelists opened by discussing key challenges and priorities they seek to address relating to cloud computing and data in the IC. They emphasized that they are working to bring the IC into a multiple cloud environment and operationalizing Commercial Cloud Enterprise (C2E), a contract between the CIA and five Commercial Service Providers (CSPs) to provide multiple cloud services to the IC. The continued operationalization of C2E can be achieved by building a culture of trust for cloud services, supporting and training mission partners in adopting cloud services, and ensuring service parity across mission centers.

Throughout the discussion, the panelists emphasized the importance of the behind-the-scenes infrastructure that enables multiple cloud environments, noting that it is critical to maintain a strong architecture and ensure effective system engineering.

The panelists closed by highlighting the accomplishments of the CIA’s Directorate of Digital Innovation (DDI) which was established in 2015. They explained that DDI handles the “1s and 0s” of the intelligence mission, ensuring that data and AI are effectively leveraged to make intelligence analysis more efficient. "Human machine teaming” is a core priority for the DDI. While IC analysts will never rely on AI to conduct analysis, they may leverage AI for ideation, counterarguments, writing style, and other parts of the analysis process.