The Defense Information Systems Agency launched a new secure file sharing site Aug. 15 as part of an effort to replace a popular tool run by the Army that had far exceeded what its creators had intended and become the go-to site for sending large files.

DISA created the tool, which is known as Department of Defense Secure Access File Exchange (SAFE) and will allow users to use securely transfer files across the department. The system replaces the SAFE site run by the U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Research Development and Engineering Center (AMRDEC) and which is being retired this month. The AMRDEC system was taken offline for several months last year

The new SAFE site will allow users to transfer files as large eight gigabytes, an upgrade from the two gigabyte limit that that the AMRDEC SAFE allowed. The site will allow users to download files several times and to send up to 25 files at once, according to a news release from the agency. The Dropbox-like service will also allow users to access files for seven days, up from two days in the previous system.

“The service provides exceptional functionality to our active and reserve service members, DoD civil servants, eligible DoD contractor personnel, and even our federal mission partners,” Brian Hermann, systems development director at DISA, said in a release. “Now when a DoD team member needs to send or receive a large file, they have a simple and secure method in which to do so.”

The new SAFE site also includes optional package level encryption, which allows the files to be encrypted at rest, the release said.

Last November, the Army disabled the AMRDEC SAFE site after a vulnerability was found in the system. It was reinstated in February. The system remained out of operation following the vulnerability because of problems with sustainment and maintenance capabilities.

“It was never intended to be the enterprise solution for DOD members that it turned into,” Sophie Johnson-Shapoval, a computer engineer with the Defense Collaboration Services, said in a statement. “We’re working with AMRDEC’s team to transition between the two services, and our goal is to provide an even better service.”

The new tool is based on open-source code and was completed in six months after a deadline from the Defense Department’s chief information officer.

Andrew Eversden covers all things defense technology for C4ISRNET. He previously reported on federal IT and cybersecurity for Federal Times and Fifth Domain, and worked as a congressional reporting fellow for the Texas Tribune. He was also a Washington intern for the Durango Herald. Andrew is a graduate of American University.

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