Versa Networks to provide SD-WAN, Zero Trust access, and CESS for DISA’s Thunderdome Program

Santa Clara, Calif. – Dec. 6, 2023 – Versa Networks today announced it has been selected to provide SD-WAN, Zero Trust access and Customer Edge Security Stack (CESS) functions for Thunderdome, the Defense Information Systems Agency’s (DISA) zero trust network access (ZTNA) and application security architecture. Versa products within the Thunderdome architecture provide conditional Zero Trust access at the network edge for DISA users.

“We’re deeply thrilled to be selected as part of Thunderdome, which is pioneering the application of Zero Trust to secure network access for both remote and on-network users,” said Kelly Ahuja, CEO of Versa Networks. “We are proud that our team was able to successfully demonstrate the use of our secure SD-WAN and Customer Edge Security Stack services to help meet Thunderdome’s rigorous Zero Trust requirements. This selection further establishes Versa as a premier provider of secure networking and Zero Trust networking technology.”

Thunderdome’s components work together to modernize DISA’s infrastructure and integrate with other agency efforts to increase automation, efficiency and security. SD-WAN functions delivered by Versa will provide software-defined routing across the Defense Information System Network (DISN), and Versa’s CESS functions will deliver Next-Generation Firewall (NGFW), IPS/IDS, and on-premises ZTNA (conditional access) services.

What is Thunderdome?

Thunderdome is DISA’s ZTNA architecture. DISA’s recently completed Thunderdome prototype successfully proved that commercial technologies, including Secure Access Service Edge (SASE), Customer Edge Security Stack (CESS) and Application Security Stacks, can improve both security and network performance in an existing enterprise environment. Following the successful completion of the prototype, DISA awarded a follow-on production Other Transaction Authority (OTA) agreement for Thunderdome to Booz Allen Hamilton.

DISA’s Thunderdome solution aligns with several federal cybersecurity modernization efforts, including the U.S. President’s Executive Order on Improving the Nation’s Cybersecurity, the DoD Zero Trust Strategy and Roadmap, and the DoD CIO’s Digital Modernization Strategy.

“We are proud of our partnership with DISA to successfully deliver the Thunderdome prototype, and we look forward to working together to take this solution into full production,” said Imran Umar, a vice president spearheading Booz Allen’s zero trust practice. “While organizations around the world are embracing the tenets of zero trust, DISA is truly pioneering the deployment of zero trust network access for both remote and on-premises users. We are excited to work with Versa as a strategic partner to provide SD-WAN, ZTNA and CESS functionality to help deliver this vision.”