No this is not the Thunderdome from the 1985 Mad Max sci-fi classic movie; this Thunderdome is a very serious technology effort from the U.S. government.

Thunderdome is the zero-trust network access (ZTNA) and Application security architecture spearheaded by the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA). It's an architecture that will involve multiple vendors over time, with Versa Networks announcing today that it is one of those vendors.

Versa Networks announced that it has been selected to deliver several key capabilities for Thunderdome. Versa will provide SD-WAN, zero-trust access and customer edge security stack (CESS) functions that will enable enhanced security and performance for DISA’s networks.

A core focus of Versa Networks' work will be using its products to deliver conditional zero-trust access at the network edge for DISA users that are on-premises. This aligns with Thunderdome’s mission of leveraging zero-trust principles to securely modernize DISA’s infrastructure. Versa’s SD-WAN capabilities will facilitate improved software-defined routing across the Defense Information System Network (DISN).

“Thunderdome’s architecture enables both on-premises and off-premises users to get conditional access to data and applications across DISA’s classified and non-classified networks,” Kelly Ahuja, CEO of Versa Networks, told SDxCentral. “Versa has been selected to be the sole provider of DISA’s Zero Trust Edge.”

The Thunderdome initiative is an important U.S. government effort that has its roots in an executive order from the White House.

In May 2021, President Biden signed an executive order to improve the nation’s cybersecurity and protect federal government networks. Going a step further, a Biden administration memorandum requires federal agencies to achieve specific zero-trust security goals by the end of fiscal year 2024.

In November 2022, the Department of Defense (DoD) Zero Trust Strategy and Roadmap was released. The roadmap revealed that current and future cyberthreats and attacks were driving the need for a zero-trust approach that went beyond the traditional perimeter defense approach. The DoD intends to implement distinct zero-trust capabilities and activities as outlined in the strategy and associated roadmap by the end of FY2027.

As the DoD's cutting-edge ZTNA and Application security architecture, Thunderdome consists of a suite of IT and cyber-based technologies, including Enterprise identity credentials and access management (ICAM), commercial secure access service edge (SASE), Software-Defined Networking (SDN) and other security tools to provide unparalleled protection and reliability.

“Thunderdome will harden the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) networks and help warfighters defend against adversarial activity by employing network and resource access tools along with segmentation technologies,” Ahuja said. “DISA's Thunderdome capabilities work in concert with identity and endpoint cybersecurity capabilities, and align to the president's Executive Order on Improving the Nation's Cybersecurity and the DoD's zero-trust strategy.”

Versa Networks is a technology provider offering a converged networking and security platform used by commercial enterprises and government agencies worldwide. The company’s unified platform delivers integrated SASE, SD-WAN, security services edge (SSE) and zero trust capabilities.

Ahuja explained that Versa’s mission is to simplify how organizations protect their users, devices and sites, and securely connect them to data and applications anywhere, anytime. It's a mission that will now extend to the Thunderdome.

“Versa products within the Thunderdome architecture provide conditional zero trust access at the network edge for DISA users and use all available security capabilities for policy enforcement at the network edge,” he said.