The Department of Defense (DoD) released the newly updated Joint Federated Assurance Center portal recently. This free resource provides publicly available hardware and software assurance information to assist both public and private research and engineering workforce sectors in building and maintaining reliable, safe, and secure DoD systems.

The JFAC, a part of the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, first launched a portal in December 2015 for the software and hardware assurance communities. JFAC has since modernized the portal, creating a data-centered, cloud-hosted, multi-level security capability designed to maximize the user experience in accessing assurance resources. For the first time, this portal is now available to the general public.

New helpful JFAC portal features include:

• A revised assurance framework designed for the broader stakeholder community
• A new assurance “Knowledge Management” section that provides assurance content with respect to public laws, executive orders, regulations, policies, strategies, guidance, best practices, acquisition pathways, technology, threats, training, products, vulnerabilities, and additional resources
• A new assurance tool catalog listing hundreds of assurance products available for DoD activities that support the hardware and software lifecycle
• A federated assurance ecosystem identifying the various stakeholder communities within DoD and associated assurance services offered by individual organizations
• An interface for assurance organizations and product owners to engage the JFAC leadership by providing direct feedback on the content of the portal continuous improvement

“The launch of this improved portal is a testament to JFAC’s continued role as the Department’s premier assurance organization,” said R&E’s Systems Security Director Melinda Reed. “In addition to helping DoD programs better assure and secure their systems, we hope that the portal serves as a vital community tool for our assurance stakeholders and partners in the wider federal government and within industry.”

To access the portal and register for an account, visit the Joint Federated Assurance Center website.