"While at sea, it is essential for the U.S. military and its Coalition partners to share sensitive information efficiently in a secure environment," said Robert Leone, Trident Warrior Chief Engineer. "Our ability to plan and coordinate over multiple domains in a timely matter is a priority. MCSBEN will serve as a major step in the right direction."

Trident Warrior is a major annual FORCEnet Sea Trial exercise sponsored by the U.S. Navy. Taking place June 2008, Trident Warrior '08 will have 41 Commands participating, as well as ships from the U.S., Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom.

As part of this exercise, MCSBEN will utilize both Suite B enabled Fortress Secure Wireless Bridges and Fortress Security Controllers to create an encryption tunnel over an existing 802.11 communication link. Connecting a Host Vessel, a Vessel of Interest, and an on-land central command post, MCSBEN will provide voice, video, and data capabilities that meet stringent Department of Defense (DoD) requirements for the transmission of Secret information.

"Suite B security products implement a set of cryptographic algorithms defined by the NSA to provide standard, interoperable security for protecting Secret, Top Secret, and sensitive but unclassified (SBU) information," said Patrick Guerin, Information Systems Security Engineer, Key Management Systems, Inc., a Fortress partner on the MCSBEN solution. "Additionally, Suite B provides an accredited, affordable, and easy-to-use alternative to heavily restricted Type 1 products currently used to meet U.S. government security requirements. This exercise is critical to realizing Suite B capabilities in an operational environment."

Fortress Secure Wireless Bridges are all-in-one network access devices with Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) 140-2 validated security. Fortress Secure Wireless Bridges are ideally suited to work as self-contained networks combining the functions of a wireless access point, bridge, Ethernet switch, and security gateway in a form factor engineered specifically for harsh outdoor environments.

"Suite B offers a number of benefits over other security standards," said Dana Kuntz, Vice President, Federal Sales, Fortress. "It is the future of DoD security and Fortress is leading the way. We are excited to be working on MCSBEN and look forward to showcasing its successful deployment during Trident Warrior '08."

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Keywords: wireless communications systems, patrick guerin, national security agency, fortress security, information systems security, robert leone, wireless bridges, management systems inc, cryptographic algorithms, security engineer, interoperable security, FSO