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LAS VEGAS — The Central Intelligence Agency’s groundbreaking $600 million deal with Amazon Web Services (AWS) over 10 years ago has more than paid off, according to the tech chiefs for both the CIA and National Security Agency (NSA).
The partnership, known as the Cloud Computing Services (C2S) contract, was considered risky at the time, allowing top secret classified data and information onto AWS hardware for tasks like computing, storage, and sharing. However, the tech chiefs, La’Naia Jones, chief information officer at CIA, and Scott Fear, NSA CIO, said that the partnership has been a phenomenal success, enabling the intelligence community to progress rapidly and make use of advanced technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) and generative AI.
The CIA’s partnership with AWS has increased over the years, with the agency awarding its multibillion-dollar “C2E” cloud contract to AWS and four other vendors in 2020. AWS was the only commercial cloud provider that met the intelligence community’s stringent requirements to host top secret classified data, giving it a leg up on competitors in the national security space.
The NSA has also partnered with AWS, awarding the company its $10 billion cloud contract, known as “WildandStormy.” The agency is using the cloud to move its troves of data, including signals intelligence, to a commercial cloud provider.
The CIA and NSA are not only embracing cloud computing but are using it to enable AI and generative AI tools. The CIA is looking at generative AI for analysis, digital acumen, and open-source enterprise, while the NSA is using cloud and AI tools like large language models to improve its mission.
AWS’ position as the first commercial cloud provider to host classified data has also made it a sought-after partner for startups and established companies looking to expand their software offerings in the national security space. Companies like Palantir, AI firm Anthropic, and software behemoth Salesforce have chosen to partner with AWS, in part because it can deploy software at scale in air-gapped settings.
Salesforce, for example, sought AWS’ partnership years ago after running all its software in its own data centers. The company recognized the opportunity to partner with the government and with AWS and then airgap Salesforce on AWS, which has been a key decision for the company’s growth in the government business.