National Cross Domain Strategy & Management Office

Information needs to be shared with stakeholders across international, governmental, agency, and classification boundaries. Cross domain technology plays a critical role in this sharing; cross domain solutions are controlled interfaces that provide the ability to manually or automatically access or transfer information between different security domains.

NSA's National Cross Domain Strategy & Management Office (NCDSMO) is the focal point for U.S. Government cross domain capabilities and mission needs (pursuant to the authority of Executive Order 12333 and National Security Directive 42).

What We Do

• Oversee cross domain activities across the U.S. Government, ensuring a common approach
• Advise the Chief Information Officers of federal agencies on issues related to cross domain solutions
• Develop and operate cross domain community outreach programs and forums
• Develop guidance and technologies to improve the security and capabilities of cross domain solutions
• Develop and maintain the security requirements for cross domain solutions used by the U.S. Government and Foreign Military Sales Program
• Oversee the Cross Domain Solutions Testing Program

• Operate a Cross Domain Threat Intelligence Activity to research and disseminate threats to cross domain solutions

Raise the Bar

Raise the Bar is a strategy for improving cross domain solution security and capabilities from a design, development, assessment, implementation, and use perspective. The scope of the strategy includes cross domain solutions, Raise the Bar is intended to apply to and address improving the cybersecurity of all cross domain solutions used to protect U.S. Government classified information and all cross domain solutions being sold for export.

The Raise the Bar strategy sets a new strategic direction for the cross domain community. Raise the Bar ensures the community improves its ability to address emerging threats and achieves improved security posture while meeting mission requirements and providing life-cycle affordability.

Standards, Guidance, & Technologies

The NCDSMO develops standards and guidance documents regarding CDS architecture, design, development, engineering, implementation, system security, local and remote management and monitoring, and filtering. Our library of standards, guidance, and technologies is available on Intelink:

Contact us by email or call (240) 373-0796.