Viasat’s encryption team, part of its Defense and Advanced Technologies segment, has surpassed 100,000 deliveries of high-assurance cryptography devices to government users.
For more than 25 years, Viasat has supported the government with high assurance encryption solutions that meet users’ operational needs. The company keeps the government’s most sensitive data secure from emerging and evolving threats.
Viasat prioritizes cybersecurity as an integrated capability, ensuring robust and reliable solutions to proactively protect users’ data communications. Viasat’s encryption solutions safeguard information across the military community, from the tactical edge on the battlefield to enterprise cloud networks, data centers, satellite ground operations, and space assets.
Viasat’s end-to-end encryption portfolio focuses on safeguarding the nation’s most critical data from being compromised or stolen. But designing, developing, manufacturing and delivering these solutions is a complex task.
The company works hard to fully understand the changing needs and challenges of protecting government data. Viasat’s 35+ year heritage of building communications and encryption products – paired with expert analysis of data across its global ISP network – gives the team a diverse view of the global cyber threat landscape.
This knowledge enables the company to deliver flexible, robust data security through a comprehensive range of high assurance (Type 1) network encryptor solutions that are tunable to specific needs for protecting the most sensitive data at rest and in transit.
With decades of innovation and commitment to customer requirements, Viasat’s encryption solutions are strategically designed with best-in-class technologies and the capabilities needed by government users:
High Security Standards
Viasat’s Type 1 embedded solutions are National Security Administration (NSA) certified to ensure proven, intelligent protection. These certifications require the right people and procedures, including those who are willing to undergo extensive analysis and testing to design products that hold up to the highest of government security standards.
Full Flexibility
The company’s foundational architecture is backed by reprogrammable, high-assurance technologies to allow for multiple modes of operations and form factors. Viasat’s encryption team comprises experts in designing high-performance, low-size, weight and power (SWaP) products that are easy to transport and to install, even when handling large amounts of data.
Viasat products are designed to seamlessly integrate with the most complex, automated and accredited government IT infrastructures. This flexibility enables users to change interfaces and form factors – as well as make network upgrades – without needing a full-scale replacement of their hardware.
Advancements in Cloud, Space & Edge Technologies
Viasat was reportedly the first-ever to offer a 100-gigabit-per-second (Gbps) Type 1 network encryption device for high-speed processing. Known as the KG-142, this Ethernet Data Encryptor (EDE) brings the same power of 10 separate 10 Gbps encryptors in a single unit.
Today, the KG-142 is still said to be the first NSA-certified Type 1 Layer 2 Media Access Control Security (MACsec) Ethernet encryptor capable of operating at speeds up to 200 Gbps with a field-proven, software-upgradeable design. This level of protection remains essential for mission operations relying on high-bandwidth applications like cloud computing or big data processing.
Speed is also important at the tactical edge, which is why Viasat produces some of the fastest, most rugged, low SWaP High Assurance Internet Protocol Encryptor (HAIPE) solutions that use the latest technologies and software to provide the network security which tactical and mobile users rely on.
Viasat’s next-generation ground-to-space encryption is built to protect sensitive Telemetry, Tracking and Command (TT&C) and mission data communications between Satellite Operations Centers (SOCs) and satellites on orbit, while reducing the complexity and costs associated with integrating multiple satellites and space systems with a single device.
Mike Blakely, Vice President of Secure Network Systems, commented, “We didn’t reach 100,000 devices [shipped] overnight. It took time, experience and a dedicated team commitment to truly understanding customers’ requirements to earn lasting trust.
“After 25 years, we understand the complexities of working with the government to protect sensitive information and have continuously evolved our solutions to meet the needs of today’s environment, through different platforms, devices and applications.
“Our team rises to these challenges and delivers solutions and support that provide the security needed to perform missions with confidence. More than anything else, that is what reaching 100,000 represents for our team.”
