Topic: Responsibility & Enabling Automation

From the Winter 2026 Issue

The ATO Bottleneck: Rethinking Responsibility and Enabling Automation

Author(s):

Dr. Ray A. Letteer, DSc, Former Director of Operations Risk Assessment, Office of the DoD Chief Information Officer, Former Chief Information Security Officer (CISO), Authorizing Official (AO), United States Marine Corps

Henry J. Sienkiewicz, Adjunct Faculty | Georgetown and George Washington Universities, Former CIO, Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA)

The pace of the Authorization to Operate (ATO) process has long been a source of frustration and lost productivity. Technology can only make a difference if it is deployed. Yet, the pace