Peraton powers the DoW’s myAuth overhaul for millions

Peraton, working with Okta and the Department of War (DoW), is expanding myAuth, a multifactor authentication platform designed to serve roughly 20 million users across the defense community. The cloud-based system is the first within the department to meet Identity Assurance Level 2 (IAL2) for multifactor authentication, aiming to replace a legacy infrastructure built for a narrower user base.

Built on the Okta Platform and operated by Peraton, myAuth offers biometric logins, push notifications, time-based one-time passcodes, and Okta FastPass via Okta Verify. The rollout is intended to address both security and accessibility, extending beyond Common Access Card holders to include retirees, dependents, contractors, and others who need to reach services such as Tricare, the Defense Travel System, and human resources portals without a physical credential.

Adoption has accelerated quickly: two months after launch, enrollment reached 900,000 users. A departmentwide deployment is slated to finish within 18 months, replacing the prior system across more than 200 DoW and Department of Veterans Affairs websites.

The platform is engineered to handle varied mission needs, enabling federated identity, lifecycle automation, and policy-based access controls for external mission partners, coalition stakeholders, and contractors with transient or just-in-time access. It also supports early onboarding for future personnel before they receive a Common Access Card, aiming to improve time-to-productivity while maintaining strong identity assurance. By decoupling identity from physical credentials and aligning to zero-trust principles, myAuth is positioned to adapt as workforce models and missions evolve.

Hosted in a DoW-authorized cloud with a Provisional Authorization from the Defense Information Systems Agency, myAuth carries a 99.99% uptime service-level agreement. Its architecture supports multiple assurance levels so individual applications can calibrate authentication requirements to their specific risk profiles.

“myAuth is more than a system upgrade — it’s a gamechanger for the entire DoW community,” said Steven Irish, VP & GM of Defense Enterprise and Health Solutions at Peraton. “We’ve delivered on the Secretary of War and CIO’s direction to prioritize and enable commercial solutions by modernizing capabilities for service members and their families.”

Peraton’s identity work within the department is expanding alongside the myAuth deployment. In April 2026, the company received a five-year, $48.6 million task order for Alternative Multifactor Authentication Support Services under the Defense Human Resources Activity and the Defense Manpower Data Center, awarded through the DEHRADS contract vehicle. That award accompanies recent wins tied to the $200 million Defense Travel System and a $20 million Defense Retired and Annuitant Pay System modernization effort.

The initiative reflects a wider shift toward identity as the backbone of cybersecurity amid distributed work and sophisticated cyber threats. “myAuth is a prime example of how modern identity technology, combined with the right mission-focused partner, can provide both high assurance and high accessibility at massive scale,” said Amy Johanek, VP of Federal at Okta.