Preserving capacity, General Tom Lawson, Chief of the Defence Staff, Keys to Canadian SAR
Issue link: http://vanguardcanada.uberflip.com/i/1194327
www.vanguardcanada.com DECEMBER 2019/JANUARY 2020 29 Sponsored Content To provide access to both security do- mains (RED/BLACK) on a single opera- tor position a secure switch is needed. A central component in RED/BLACK sce- narios is the Frequentis iSAS which is a unique Secure Audio Switch that meets the Common Criteria recognition ar- rangement for components up to EAL4+ – NATO Secret. On request, iSecCOM installations can be TEMPEST certified to ensure maxi- mum information security. iSecCOM and Cybersecurity In addition to ensuring communication channels are encrypted, it is important for preventative measures to be adopted. Safety-critical infrastructure is an attrac- tive target in cyber warfare, so it is impor- tant to implement protective measures by design. In the past, voice communication and control systems were typically based on proprietary hardware and software running in complete isolation. Today, safety critical services run on interconnected standardised platforms, opening themselves up to highly sophisticated malware or targeted attacks. iSecCOM's COTS IT architecture is protected by an intelligent mix of DMZ, firewalls and IT system hardening accord- ing to the CONOPS and customer specific requirements. The Frequentis voice communication system is, from its conception, intended to serve all operations of air forces - military air traffic control applications as well as air defence operations, in static, deployed or mobile scenarios. In a C2 scenario, the so- lution's architecture provides a redundant coherent IP network infrastructure: voice and data, in addition to information servic- es such as collaboration, decision support and common operational picture services -- all on the same mission-critical network. iSecCOM and mission-critical networks Voice Communication is not only about ground/air communication but also about base to base ground/ground com- munication, usually transitioning through multiple Commercial IP Service Provid- ers through Terrestrial MPLS and satel- lite networks. Frequentis transforms these multiple disparate networks and links into one resilient mission-critical network. Additional security layers increase the de- mand for bandwidth by up to 400%, as well as increasing network complexity. Adaptive bandwidth allocation in a multi-security domain operation is essential for efficient network use. Secure voice communication needs a resilient network as a backbone to ensure both safety and security. Such a net- work is called mission-critical. A mission-critical network reacts to changing network performance and en- sures communications to reach their des- tination with the appropriate priority and information assurance. It is of utmost im- portance to ensure the availability of oper- ational systems even in the event of failure, security breaches, or an attack. Resilience is the new redundancy. Frequentis mission-critical networks of- fers network scalability, situational aware- ness and intelligent routing and control in real time. To ensure resilience in any situation, networks must be aware that demands of applications and the capacity provided by a network will vary over time. Network resilience can be assured with two approaches: overprovisioning and pri- oritization. In most cases the overprovision of capacity is technically and logistically impossible within a strict defence environ- ment. However, by being aware of real time performance needs from applications, and the available network capabilities, pri- oritisation is possible. Mission-ready Frequentis air defence voice communica- tion systems are operational around the world today and are fully integrated and completely modular. Frequentis iSecCOM provides a platform that integrates legacy analogue and VoIP communications in both a classified and unclassified environment. This means that defence organisations are given the flex- ibility to utilise existing networks or COTS hardware to avoid being locked into pro- prietary stacks. This also reduces acquisi- tion and ongoing management costs, pro- tecting investment in legacy technologies and extending life span. iSecCOM integrates into existing IT en- vironments thanks to its open design for network, device and application integra- tion. It has been developed according to interoperability standards to ensure maxi- mum compatibility with other systems. The minimal footprint, decentralised COTS-based scalable system architecture allows iSecCOM to fit into each context, whether it be deployable/mobile systems, or large centres with many users. Frequentis secure communication so- lutions are designed for command and control operations in a tactical and mis- sion-critical environment, supporting and integrating a broad variety of tactical com- munication methods for ground/air and ground/ground communications, fully supporting RCAF C2 operators to achieve their mission. PERSPECTIVE Figure 1: