WASHINGTON, D.C., April 08, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Virtru, the leader in data-centric security, applauds the National Security Agency’s inclusion of the Zero Trust Data Format (ZTDF) and Intelligence Community-Trusted Data Format (IC-TDF) to support interoperable data rights management as part of its Zero Trust Implementation Guideline Phase Two. The guidance is yet another indicator of the growing importance of open, interoperable standards for protecting sensitive data and enabling secure information sharing across the Department of War and the national security ecosystem, including allied partners.
In the guideline’s section on Data Rights Management (DRM) Enforcement, the NSA states that “To achieve interoperability, each participating component should standardize a Data Rights Management (DRM) schema, such as Intelligence Community Trusted Data Format (IC-TDF) or Zero Trust Data Format (ZTDF), to ensure the end products for all components can decrypt shared files.”
For Virtru, this is a meaningful signal of continued adoption of ZTDF, a derivative of the Trusted Data Format (TDF), the foundational open standard created by Virtru Co-Founder and Chief Architect Will Ackerly. Five Eyes partners developed ZTDF by leveraging TDF's built-in extensibility to meet coalition data-sharing requirements.
Today, the Virtru Data Security Platform is built on OpenTDF, the open-source project that Virtru stewards. OpenTDF provides the foundational key access, policy, and attribute services that enforce TDF and ZTDF protections — delivering granular access controls and object-level protection that travel with the data itself to support secure interoperability across federal agencies, the defense industrial base, and mission partners.
“The NSA’s reference of both IC-TDF and ZTDF reflects growing momentum behind open standards for secure data sharing in the public sector,” said Angel Smith, President of Global Public Sector at Virtru. “For Virtru, it’s a strong affirmation that data-centric security is a critical element of Zero Trust implementations, allowing for highly secure and controlled intelligence sharing that accelerates mission success.”
The NSA’s guidance builds on broader momentum for ZTDF across allied and coalition environments. That trajectory is reflected in ACP 240, an Allied Communication Publication developed by Five Eyes partners. At the core of ACP 240 is ZTDF, which ensures data remains protected wherever it travels, including in contested or coalition environments.
This latest instruction from the NSA reinforces what mission-driven organizations increasingly recognize: Secure interoperability requires data to move, with ironclad protection that travels with the data itself. Virtru will continue supporting public sector organizations, the defense industrial base, and allied partners with data-centric security solutions built on open standards and designed for the realities of modern information sharing. To learn more, visit virtru.com.
Contact
Virtru – Nick Michael (nick.michael@virtru.com)
